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PINK  GODS 
AND  BLUE  DEMONS 

CYNTHIA  STOCKLEY 


PINK  GODS  AND 
BLUE  DEMONS 

BY 
CYNTHIA   STOCKLEY 

AUTHOR   OF  "blue    ALOES,"  "POPPY," 

"the  claw,"  etc. 


NEW  xBr'  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,   1920, 
BY   GEORGE    H.  DORAN   COMl»AIfr 


PKINTSD   IN  THE    UNITED   tTATBt  OF  AMBRICA 


CONTENTS 

VAOi 

Part  One 9 

Part  Two 73 

Part  Three 14* 


PINK  GODS  AND   BLUE   DEMONS 
Part  One 


PINK    GODS    AND 
BLUE  DEMONS 


PART  ONE 

KIMBERLEY  was  once  the  most  fa- 
mous diamond  diggings  in  the  world. 
Rhodes  founded  his  fortunes  there,  and  the 
friendships  that  backed  him  throughout  his 
career.  In  the  tented  camps,  hundreds  of 
men  became  millionaires,  and  hundreds  of 
others  went  to  jail  for  the  crime  of  I.  D.  B. 
(illicit  diamond  buying).  Later,  stately- 
buildings  and  comfortable  homes  took  the 
place  of  tent  and  tin  hut,  and  later  still, 
the  town,  like  a  good  many  other  mining 
towns  in  South  Africa,  became  G.  I.  A 
mine  is  G.  I.   (meaning  "gone  in")   when 


10^ . !  Piftk '.  Gd^,s.  and  Blue  Demons 

there  is  no  longer  any  output.  This  was 
hardly  true  of  Kimberley.  It  continues 
until  this  day  to  put  out  diamonds,  and 
still  may  be  found  there  "the  largest  hole 
in  the  world."  But  Kimberley's  day  was 
over  when  gold  was  found  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, and  the  adventuring  crowd  left  it, 
never  to  return. 

At  the  present  time,  it  is  chiefly  remark- 
able for  its  scandals,  dust,  heat,  and  the 
best  hotel  in  South  Africa,  which  is  not  so 
much  a  hotel  as  a  palatial  country  house 
started  by  the  De  Beers  magnates  for  the 
entertainment  of  their  friends  or  for  their 
own  use  when  they  are  bored  with  home  life. 
Notabilities  are  often  entertained  there  as 
guests  of  the  famous  company,  but,  even  if 
not  a  guest  of  De  Beers',  a  traveller  may 
stay  at  the  Belgrove  for  about  a  pound  a 
day  and  be  silent  and  cool  as  in  an  ice-house 
while  all  the  rest  of  Kimberley  is  a  raging 
furnace.  Mr  Rhodes  entertained  General 
French  at  dinner  here   after  the  relief  of 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons      11 

Kimberley.  There  is  a  picture  over  the  din- 
ing-room mantelpiece  of  the  two  men  meet- 
ing on  the  famous  occasion  of  the  relief  of 
Kimberley. 

Loree  Temple,  seated  at  a  table  just  be- 
low it,  looked  often  at  this  picture  and  then 
contemplatively  at  her  own  image  in  a  mir- 
ror on  the  wall.  It  seemed  a  pity  that 
Rhodes  was  dead,  the  Boer  War  over  and 
all  the  mining  adventurers  gone  away.  She 
would  have  liked  to  live  and  love  among 
such  men  instead  of  being  married  to  Pat 
Temple.  None  but  the  brave  deserve  the 
fair,  and  she  imagined  her  beauty  adorning 
a  scene  of  "triumph  and  roses  and  wine" 
when  gallantry  returned  to  white  arms  and 
the  soft  rewards  of  victory.  She  had  often 
dreamed  herself  back  in  ancient  Rome, 
seated  in  a  chariot  beside  some  blood-stained 
general,  with  pearls  strung  in  her  hair  and 
immense  uncut  rubies  and  emeralds  against 
her  dazzling  whiteness.  Or  perhaps  led  into 
the  banquet  as  a  slave,  with  chains  upon  her 


12     PifiJi:  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

wrists,  part  of  the  spoils  of  war,  proud  and 
sad  and  exquisite  in  her  doom.  At  other 
hours,  she  remembered  the  words  of  Arthur, 
bitter  and  tender,  to  his  queen: 

— with  beauty  such  as  never  woman  wore 
Until  it  came  a  kingdom's  curse  with  thee. 

No  doubt  she  took  an  exaggerated  view  of 
her  own  case.  At  any  rate,  her  women 
friends  would  have  found  much  pleasure  in 
telling  her  so.  It  was  only  natural  she 
should  think  herself  a  great  deal  more  beau- 
tiful than  she  was.  All  pretty  women  do. 
But  there  is  no  denying  that  the  sight  of  her, 
as  she  sat  there^  would  have  spoiled  many  a 
woman's  sleep  and  gladdened  the  heart  of 
any  man — a  girl  with  red  hair  and  a  redder 
rose  in  it,  the  milky  skin  such  hair  ensures, 
a  sweet  ensnaring  mouth,  eyes  with  a  plain- 
tive expression  in  them,  a  string  of  small  but 
perfect  pearls  round  her  young  throat,  and 
a  black  georgette  gown  by  Viola.  Pat  al- 
ways liked  her  to  wear  black  while  he  was 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons      13 

away.  The  simple  soul  had  an  idea  that  in 
black  she  would  not  be  looked  at  so  much. 
Needless  to  say,  Pat  Temple  was  neither 
a  blood-stained  general  nor  a  mining  adven- 
turer. He  made  his  income  honestly  enough 
out  of  a  cold-storage  plant,  and  though  in- 
directly he  dealt  with  corpses,  they  were 
legitimate  corpses  of  beef  and  mutton.  This 
was  hard  on  Loraine  Loree  (as  her  mother 
had  romantically  named  her  after  Kingsley's 
poem),  with  her  secret  thirst  for  glamour 
and  glory  and  strange  jewels.  But  hus- 
bands often  know  nothing  of  their  wives' 
secret  thirsts.  Pat  Temple  knew  that  he  had 
found  the  girl  he  wanted  growing  like  a 
flower  in  a  Channel  Island  garden — a  "Jer- 
sey lily,"  with  French  blood  in  her  veins — 
and  that  was  enough  for  him.  He  meant  to 
get  her  the  best  the  world  can  give  before 
he  had  finished,  but  he  never  mentioned  his 
intentions.  At  the  moment,  he  was  up  North 
trying  to  persuade  Rhodesians  to  install  cold- 
storage  plants  in  all  their  big  towns.    That 


14     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

was  why  Loree  was  alone  in  the  luxurious 
Kimberley  hotel.  He  had  told  her  it  was 
better  for  her  to  keep  cool  and  comfortable 
there  than  be  bucketing  about  all  over 
Rhodesia. 

So  there  she  sat  in  her  black  gown,  re- 
flecting and  drawing  the  string  of  little 
pearls  softly  back  and  forth  across  her  fresh 
lips.  The  difference  between  real  pearls  and 
false  is  that  you  can  play  with  the  real  ones 
in  this  manner  or  twist  them  perpetually  be- 
tween your  fingers;  artificial  ones  should  be 
more  discreetly  used  and  are  best  worn  un- 
assumingly under  chiffon  or  only  allowed  to 
peep  with  modesty  from  the  V  of  your  gown. 

Loree  had  always  adored  jewels,  but  never 
owned  any  until  she  married.  This  string 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  little  pearls, 
one  for  each  day  in  the  year,  was  more 
precious  to  her  than  bread.  Which  was  only 
right,  for  its  purchase  had  made  a  consider- 
able dent  in  Pat's  capital  (though  he  had 
never  mentioned  that,  either).    She  also  had 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     15 

two  rather  fine  single  pearls  in  her  ears,  and 
some  pearl  rings.  For  a  dealer  in  carcasses, 
Pat  Temple's  taste  in  jewellery  was  curi- 
ously eclectic.  She  had  never  possessed  a 
diamond.  Nor  had  she  particularly  wished 
to  do  so,  though,  like  most  women,  she  some- 
times lingered  to  gaze  at  a  display  of  them 
in  a  shop  window,  wondering  if  they  would 
become  her.  But  it  was  only  since  she  came 
to  Kimberley  that  the  romance  of  them  had 
taken  hold  of  her  imagination.  It  was  see- 
ing "the  biggest  hole  in  the  world"  that 
started  it.  She  had  gone  by  herself,  and 
gazed. long  into  the  vast  excavation  delved 
by  the  hands  of  men  in  the  search  for  those 
strange  little  cadres  of  imprisoned  light,  each 
with  a  mysterious  past  behind  it  and  an  al- 
most eternal  future  before  it.  She  wondered 
what  became  of  diamonds.  They  seem  in- 
destructible, yet  where  were  all  the  millions 
of  them  that  had  been  taken  from  this  one 
great  hole  alone — that,  down  there^  out  of 


16     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

the  light,  were  still  being  dug  and  groped 
and  sweated  for"? 

And  it  was  all  for  women!  That  gave 
her  a  thrill  she  had  never  felt  before.  Men 
slaved  and  wore  out  their  lives  and  were 
killed  down  there,  so  that  wopien  might  wear 
diamonds.  Those  little  sparkling  stones 
were  tokens  of  love  between  men  and  women 
— imperishable  counters  of  passion ! 

It  began  to  stir  her  uneasily  from  that  mo- 
ment to  think  she  had  never  possessed  a  dia- 
mond. Why  had  Pat  only  given  her  trist- 
ful white  pearls'?  '  Perhaps  she  was  missing 
something.  Perhaps  the  great  things  of  life 
were  passing  her  by. 

Her  eyes  wandered  round  the  dining-raom. 
There  were  not  many  women,  but  every  one 
of  them  had  a  glimmer  of  light  somewhere 
— in  her  ears,  at  the  bosom,  or  on  her  fingers. 
One  woman,  who,  like  Loree,  was  dining 
alone,  wore  a  single  stone  slung  round  her 
neck  on  an  almost  invisible  chain,  and  at 
every  movement  it  sent  long  pin-rays  of 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     17 

light  darting  across  the  room  to  where  Loree 
sat.  Every  time  a  ray  reached  her,  it  seemed 
to  give  her  a  prick,  increasing  her  uneasy 
sense  that  she  was  missing  something  in  life. 
There  seemed  a  magical  power  in  the  thing. 
She  determined  that  after  dinner  she  would 
speak  to  the  wearer  and  examine  the  jewel 
more  closely. 

The  lady  was  a  Mrs  Cork,  a  dark  woman 
who  did  her  hair  in  a  classical  knot  at  the 
back  of  her  head  and  looked  as  if  she  had  a 
past.  She  was  a  widow  from  Johannesburg, 
not  beautiful,  but  the  kind  of  woman  who 
would  be  looked  at  in  a  room  before  all  the 
pretty  women.  Her  brilliant,  weary  eyes 
wore  an  expression  of  having  seen  everything 
in  the  world  worth  seeing,  and  finding  that 
nothing  was  worth  having.  Loree  admired 
and  intensely  envied  her  air  of  "having 
lived,"  and  the  cynical  flavour  of  her  speech. 
They  had  already  exchanged  smiles  and 
fragments  of  conversation  when  meeting  in 
the  lounge  and  drawing-room,  and  Mrs  Cork 


18     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

had  told  her  that  she  was  in  Kimberley  to 
consult  a  noted  pedicurist  about  some  trouble 
with  her  left  foot. 

Another  person  who  interested  Mrs  Tem- 
ple now  entered  the  dining-room  and  sat 
down  at  a  table  a  few  yards  away,  with  his 
chair  so  placed  that  there  was  nothing  be- 
tween him  and  an  uninterrupted  view  of 
Loree  except  the  little  delicately  shaded  elec- 
tric lamp.  Very  unobtrusively,  he  moved 
the  light  slightly  aside.  Immediately  Loree 
experienced  the  same  odd  pricking  in  her 
blood  as  the  rays  of  the  diamond  seemed  to 
cause  her.  Only,  she  no  longer  felt  that  she 
was  missing  something,  or  that  life  was  pass- 
ing her  by  on  the  other  side. 

For  three  days  he  had  deliberately  courted 
her  with  a  pair  of  fine,  golden-brown  eyes 
that  contained  melancholy,  power,  a  whimsi- 
cal reflective  expression,  and  a  whole  world 
of  admiration  for  Loree  Temple.  He  was 
a  dark,  gracefully-built  man  with  thick  dark 
hair  brushed   back  smoothly   on  his   well- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     19 

shaped  head.  Everything  about  him  was 
right,  from  his  hair  to  his  shoes.  He  was  the 
kind  of  man  who  could  not  make  any  mis- 
take about  dress,  and  gave  distinction  to  any- 
thing he  wore.  His  name  was  Quelch,  and 
Loree  was  aware  that  he  was  a  power  in  the 
hotel  and  in  Kimberley. 

The  first  day  at  lunch,  when  the  heat  was 
sizzling  outside  among  the  fernlike  leaves  of 
the  pepper-trees  and  coming  through  the 
windows  in  almost  visible  waves — Mrs  Tem- 
ple's red  head  had  drooped  rather  like  a 
poppy  overtired  by  the  sun,  and  she  had 
fanned  herself  a  little  wearily  with  the 
menu-card.  A  low-spoken  word  at  Quelch's 
table  and  a  shade  of  the  outside  verandah 
was  moved  by  swift  hands  so  that  it  dark- 
ened the  window  behind  her  without  shut- 
ting off  the  air.  A  moment  later,  a  huge 
block  of  ice  standing  in  a  deep  tray  of  green- 
ery miraculously  appeared  on  the  window- 
sill,  and  a  fan  daintily  composed  of  lace  and 
ivory  lay  at  her  elbow.    In  the  evening,  she 


■20     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

found  that  beside  her  table  a  wooden  tree 
had  sprung  up  through  the  floor  and  blos- 
somed into  an  electric  fan  whose  zephyrs 
were  for  her  exclusive  refreshment.  There 
were  lovely  flowers  everywhere,  but  a  silver 
bowl  of  deep-red  roses  distinguished  her  table 
from  the  others.  There  are  some  things  you 
know  for  certain  without  knowing  them  for 
sure,  as  the  saying  is.  Without  any  evi- 
dence, Loree  was  aware  of  Quelch's  respon- 
sibility for  these  delicate  miracles.  He  was 
a  power.    He  spoke,  and  things  happened. 

The  roses  were  there  again  to-night,  deep 
and  red  and  dewy,  as  if  they  had  been 
plucked  in  a  misty  valley  and  were  still  wet 
with  the  dawn. 

As  she  left  the  table,  she  took  one  from 
the  bowl  and  stuck  it  into  the  V  of  her  gown. 
It  was  carelessly  done,  but  her  hands  trem- 
bled a  little  and  her  veins  thrilled  again  as 
if  in  answer  to  some  magnetic  current  which, 
whether  it  came  from  a  magic  stone  or  from 
a  man's  eyes,  made  her  feel  curiously  alive 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     21 

and  daring.  There  is  no  thrill  like  the  thrill 
of  playing  with  fire  that  may  blaze  out  and 
consume  you  (but  you  won't  let  it),  or  stand- 
ing on  the  edge  of  a  precipice  where  you 
might  fall  over  (but  you  are  not  going  to). 

Betaking  herself  to  the  cool  gloom  of  the 
verandah,  where  coffee  was  served,  she  sat 
down  by  Mrs  Cork.  Out  in  the  garden  spec- 
tral figures  were  drenching  the  trees  and  flow- 
ers with  water  after  the  cruel  heat  of  the 
day,  and  the  place  was  full  of  the  scent  of 
wet  earth.    Said  Mrs  Cork : 

"I  have  been  so  dull  all  day.  Not  a 
thought  but  to  lie  perdue  under  my  mos- 
quito-curtains until  the  sun  went  down." 

"Do  you  dislike  the  heat*?"  said  Loree. 
"I  find  it  stimulating." 

The  other  woman  considered  her  with 
heavily  shadowed  eyes. 

"It  flattens  me  out  like  a  glass  of  spilled 
milk.  You  haven't  been  here  long  enough 
for  it  to  take  toll  of  you,  but  it  will — body, 
soul,  and  spirit." 


22     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Loree  laughed,  secure  in  her  fresh  beauty. 
Besides,  it  felt  very  safe  to  be  Pat  Temple's 
wife. 

"I  should  be  inclined  to  challenge  that  if 
I  had  come  to  stay.  We  are  only  out  here 
on  a  trip." 

"You're  lucky.  Africa  is  all  right  as  long 
as  you  can  get  away  from  her.  But  you 
should  not  challenge  her.  Like  Fate,  you 
never  know  what  she  has  up  her  sleeve." 

She  sipped  her  coffee,  looking  moodily 
into  the  dark  garden.  Loree  snatched  this 
opportunity  to  scrutinise  the  diamond.  It 
winked  at  her  like  a  little  demon  with  bluish- 
green  eyes. 

"Will  you  think  me  very  inquisitive  if  I 
ask  whether  your  diamond  came  out  of  the 
Kimberley  mine?"  she  said. 

Mrs.  Cork  smiled  indifferently. 

"No:  it  is  a  Brazilian.  Are  you  inter- 
ested in  diamonds?"  ' 

"They  exercise  a  sort  of  fascination  over 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     23 

me/'  said  Loree  slowly.  "Though  I  never 
thought  about  them  much  before." 

The  other  woman  examined  her  thought- 
fully. 

"Yes :  one  does  begin  to  think  about  them 
here.     Kimberley  is  a  wicked  place." 

The  statement  gave  Loree  a  sensation — 
not  altogether  disagreeable. 

"It  seems  so  quiet  and  peaceful." 

The  other  smiled  cryptically. 

"There  is  a  mot  current  in  South  Africa 
with  regard  to  the  degree  of  wickedness  to 
be  found  in  different  towns.  It  runs:  'Kim- 
berley, first  prize;  Cradock,  second;  Hell, 
highly  recommended.'  " 

Loree  could  not  help  laughing,  and  at  that 
moment  Quelch  sauntered  out  from  the  hall 
and  stood  in  the  light  close  beside  them.  Mrs 
Cork,  lifting  her  voice  slightly,  addressed 
him. 

"Mr  Quelch,  come  here  and  help  me  con- 
vince Mrs  Temple  that  the  wickedness  of 
Babylon  was  as  nothing  compared  to  tiie 


24     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

wickedness  of  this  sweet  and  tranquil  town." 

He  laughed:  they  all  laughed,  and  a  mo- 
ment or  two  later  they  were  sitting  together, 
discussing  the  matter.  Quelch  repudiated 
the  libel  on  Kimberley.  If  "wickedness" 
was  in  question,  he  thought  that  Johannes- 
burg ought,  at  any  rate,  to  receive  an  hon- 
ourable mention. 

"There  are  no  diamonds  in  Johannes- 
burg," said  Mrs  Cork. 

"Diamonds !"  Quelch  looked  musingly  at 
Loree.  "  'The  most  exquisite  of  gems, 
known  only  to  kings.'  Pliny  wrote  that  of 
them  in  the  year  lOO  Anno  DomimI" 

His  voice  held  a  melancholy  cadence;  the 
dark  beauty  of  his  face  suggested  the  East 
where  women  are  addressed  with  a  musical, 
caressing  softness.  Loree  was  susceptible  to 
voices  and  she  listened  fascinated.  It  ap- 
peared that  the  Tintara,  a  mine  outside  Kim- 
berley which  had  produced  some  remarkable 
diamonds,  belonged  to  him,  but  he  spoke  of 
it  carelessly,  as  if  it  were  a  broken-kneed 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     25 

horse  he  owned.  He  showed  them  a  stone 
that  had  been  discovered  that  day.  It  was 
rather  like  a  piece  of  washing  soda,  with  no 
glitter  or  spangle  at  all.  Difficult  to  believe 
that  it  could  be  cut  and  px)lished  into  daz- 
zling beauty.  It  must  go  to  Europe  for  that 
though.  There  are  no  lapidaries  in  Africa. 
Loree  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  theory 
that  diamonds  come  from  the  skies,  and  of 
the  possibility  that  the  mines  in  various  parts 
of  the  world  are  meteorites  so  immense  that 
in  falling  they  penetrated  the  earth's  crust 
and  became  part  of  it.  This  theory  is  backed 
by  the  curious  fact  that  meteorites  which  fell 
in  Arizona,  Russia  and  Chile  all  contained 
small  diamonds.  As  to  the  destructibility  of 
diamonds  she  learned  that  they  can  be  con- 
verted by  the  action  of  heat  or  electricity 
into  that  most  banal  substance — ^black  lead ! 
Entranced  by  these  strange  tales  by  Quelch's 
wonderful  voice,  she  sat  spellbound  while 
he  told  of  the  famous  diamonds  of  the  world. 
The  Star  of  South  Africa  bought  by  Lord 


26     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Dudley  for  £25,000;  the  Great  Mogul,  "a 
rose-cut  stone  tall  on  one  side";  the  Orloff 
stolen  by  a  French  soldier  from  the  eye  of 
a  Brahmin  idol,  and  stolen  again  and  again 
until  it  was  bought  for  £90,000  for  Cather- 
ine II  and  kept  among  the  Russian  crown 
jewels  ever  after;  the  blue-white  Koh-i-noor 
shaped  like  an  egg;  the  lovely  pale  rose  pear- 
shaped  Taj-e-mah  belonging  to  the  Shah  of 
Persia;  the  Nassak,  a  beautiful  stone  in  the 
possession  of  the  Duke  of  Westminster;  the 
brilliant  blue  Hope  diamond  lost  and  found 
so  often,  and  reputed  to  bring  bad  luck;  the 
Tiffany,  a  magnificent  orange-yellow  stone  of 
125^  carats;  the  Dresden,  part  of  the  Saxon 
crown  jewels,  only  40  carats  in  weight  but  of 
a  unique  apple-green  colour.  Then  there 
were  the  lovely  little  stones  to  be  gathered 
like  dewdrops  in  a  forest  in  Rhodesia — the 
Somabula.  Most  of  the  best  South  African 
diamonds  it  seemed  were  of  a  flawless  clear- 
ness and  water-white.  It  was  wonderful  to 
head  Quelch  speak  of  them.     It  seemed  to 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     27 

Loraine  that  his  words  were  like  the  gems 
themselves  sparkling  and  rippling  and 
tumbling  in  cascades. 

Before  they  parted  that  night,  he  invited 
them  to  go  next  day  and  see  the  diamonds  at 
the  De  Beers  offices.  They  accepted  with 
fervour,  and  he  said  he  would  have  a  car 
waiting  for  them. 

"He  is  not  a  De  Beers  man  himself,"  Mrs 
Cork  told  Loree  as  they  went  upstairs,  "but 
immensely  rich  and  hand  in  glove  with  the 
diamond  crowd  here.  He  can  do  anything 
he  likes  in  Kimberley.  Fascinating  brute, 
isn't  he?' 

"Why  brute?'  asked  Loree,  surprised.  It 
was  not  a  word  she  would  have  thought  of 
applying  to  him. 

"He  has  such  a  gentle  voice,"  Mrs  Cork 
said,  and  seemed  to  think  that  answer 
enough.  "He  had  a  wife  once — a  lovely 
woman,  they  say.  He  is  mad  about  beauty. 
She  died  in  childbirth  about  fifteen  years 
ago,  leaving  him  a  son  whom  he  adores.    He 


28     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

has  the  reputation  of  being  extreme  in  his 
loves  and  hates.  Extreme  people  are  always 
dangerous." 

Smiling  her  weary  enigmatic  smile,  Mrs 
Cork  bade  her  good  night. 

A  beautifully  appointed  car  fetched  them 
the  next  day  in  the  cool  of  the  afternoon,  and 
Quelch  met  them  at  the  door  of  the  famous 
Diamond  Office,  a  substantial  stone  building 
with  no  hint  in  its  squat  face  of  the  romance 
it  housed.  Quelch  trod  its  corridors  as  if 
he  owned  them.  Because  of  being  his  guests, 
they  were  not  constrained,  like  other  visitors, 
to  stand  behind  a  rail,  but  invited  to  ap- 
proach the  counter  where  men  and  women  sat 
pushing  innumerable  little  objects  that  looked 
like  dull  bits  of  broken  glass  into  cone- 
shaped  heaps.  It  was  difficult  to  believe  in 
the  concealed  splendour  of  those  dingy  heaps. 
The  two  women  lingered,  plunging  their  fin- 
gers into  hidden  glory  and  speculating  on  the 
possible  future  of  each  stone.  Some  were 
for  the  engagement  rings  of  little  shop-girls, 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     29 

some  might  gleam  in  a  crown,  and  be  dyed 
with  a  queen's  blood,  as  were  the  diamonds 
of  poor  Draga  of  Serbia.  The  past  of  each 
was  silence,  a  secret  buried  in  the  earth's 
bowels;  its  future  endless,  almost  eternal, 
like  the  hills.  Tout  passe,  tout  lasse,  tout 
casse — only  the  hills  remain — and  dia- 
monds ! 

Among  the  exhibits  specially  shown  to 
the  guests  of  Heseltine  Quelch  was  a  maca- 
beresque  souvenir  of  the  swift  and  sharp 
death  that  sometimes  descends  upon  those 
who  work  in  the  depths  of  a  diamond  mine. 
It  was  a  strange  cleft  object,  floating  in  a 
jar  of  spirits-of-wine.  Mrs  Cork  gave  one 
quick  glance  and  looked  away  with  a  shiver, 
but  Loree  stared  in  great  curiosity. 

"What  can  it  be?"  she  exclaimed. 

"A  thing  often  spoken  of  but  seldom 
seen,"  said  the  young  De  Beers  man.  "A 
broken  heart." 

It  was  indeed  a  human  heart  that  had 
once  beaten  in  a  man's  breast,  and  it  was 


30     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

cleft  apart  from  top  to  point  almost  as  if 
divided  by  a  sharp  knife  or  hatchet.  But 
no  weapon  had  performed  this  grim  piece  of 
artistry.  It  was  the  fantastic  result  of  a 
great  fall  of  reef  upon  the  head  of  a  native. 
Death  must  of  course  have  been  instanta- 
neous, for  though  when  the  body  was  recov- 
ered it  was  not  so  crushed  as  might  have  been 
expected,  a  medical  investigation  revealed 
the  strange  phenomena  of  the  broken  heart 
which  is  kept  to  this  day  by  De  Beers,  as 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

There  were  freakish  stones,  too.  Curiosi- 
ties kept  just  as  they  had  been  dug  from  the 
mine.  One  had  the  face  of  a  clock  clearly 
marked  on  it,  though  by  no  human  agency; 
another  showed  a  church  window,  another  a 
perfectly  shaped  capital  V.  One  was  like 
the  bead  of  a  rosary,  with  all  its  points 
pushed  in  instead  of  projecting.  Mrs  Cork 
exclaimed  much  over  these,  but  what  moved 
Loree  most  was  the  sight  of  the  cut  and  pol- 
ished gems  which  a  clerk  set  out  before  them. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     31 

These  were  the  show-stones  kept  for  the  gloiy 
of  De  Beers  and  the  ravishment  of  visitors, 
row  upon  row  of  them  nesting  in  cases  upon 
such  delicate  shades  of  velvet  as  best  became 
their  beauty. 

Loree's  breath  came  in  little  gasps  as  she 
gazed  upon  them — rose-red,  amber-coloured, 
silvery,  sherry-brown,  smoky  blue  and  water- 
white.  It  seemed  to  her  that  she  was  drink- 
ing some  magic  draught  in  an  enchanted  gar- 
den full  of  roses,  dancing  daffodils,  and 
frozen  dewdrops  imprisoning  a  thousand 
spurts  of  flame. 

Quelch  stepped  into  the  garden,  too.  The 
slow  music  of  his  voice  as  he  gathered  up  the 
stones  and  let  them  fall  from  his  fingers  to 
hers  was  for  her  alone,  and  became  part  of 
the  glamour  and  the  dream.  One  exquisite 
thing,  the  colour  of  a  dog-rose  and  radiating 
a  thousand  minute  roses  of  fire,  fell  into  the 
pearly  pinkness  of  her  palm  and  nestled 
there. 

"As  if  it  wishes  to  stay,"  said  Quelch. 


82      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"As  if  it  knows  that  for  such  hands  diamonds 
are  sought  and  found." 

The  words  were  spoken  musingly  and  very- 
low.  Loree  heard  them,  but  they  did  not 
disturb  her.  The  spell  of  diamonds  was  on 
her.  The  garden  had  turned  into  enchanted 
woods,  and  Pan  was  fluting  there. 

When  they  were  leaving  the  building  some 
minutes  later,  they  met  a  man  who  stopped 
Quelch  and  showed  him  something  he  had 
picked  up.  Loree  recognised  it,  for  already 
her  eye  had  learned  to  discern  a  diamond  in 
the  rough.  Quelch  gave  a  glance  and  handed 
it  back. 

"Worth  about  a  hundred  and  seventy,"  he 
said  carelessly. 

"What  was  it*?  Where  did  he  find  it?' 
asked  Mrs  Cork  eagerly,  as  they  passed  on. 

"A  seven-carat  diamond.  He  found  it  in 
the  street  close  by,  and  is  going  to  hand  it 
in." 

"But  may  one  not  keep  a  diamond  if  one 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     38 

finds  it?"  asked  Loree  wistfully.    He  smiled 
at  her  ignorance. 

"I'm  afraid  not,  Mrs  Temple.  Findings 
are  not  keepings  here.  Every  stone  within 
a  large  radius  is  the  property  of  the  De  Beers 
Company." 

"How  strange!"  she  sighed.  "One  would 
think  that  what  is  lying  loose  in  the  world 
would  be  every  one's  property"?" 

"On  the  contrary,  if  that  fellow  had  kept 
it,  he  might  have  got  from  five  to  ten  years 
in  jail  for  illegal  possession." 

"And  for  being  honest — what  will  he 
get*?"  inquired  Mrs  Cork. 

"Nothing.  He  is  a  company's  man.  De 
Beers  employes  are  not  expected  to  pick  up 
seven-carat  diamonds  in  the  street.  If  en- 
couraged such  accidents  might  develope  into 
habits." 

"And  if  I  had  found  it*?"  she  pursued. 

"Ah!  You,  as  an  innocent  stranger, 
would  be  paid  a  reward  of  twenty  per  cent 
on  its  value." 


34      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"It  seems  worth  while  to  keep  one's  eyes 
open,"  she  laughed,  and  began  to  shuffle  with 
the  toe  of  her  shoe  in  the  dusty  street. 

"I  should  hardly  advise  that  course," 
smiled  Quelch.  "There  are  detectives  all 
about  us,  as  well  as  in  the  office.  The  in- 
nocence of  strangers  is  only  presumed  as  long 
as  they  keep  a  roving  look  out  of  their  eyes 
and  do  not  stoop  down  to  pick  interesting 
things  from  the  dust." 

Both  women  looked  startled.  Mrs  Cork, 
indeed,  was  rather  indignant. 

"How  horrible !  Do  you  mean  to  say  that 
even  we  might  be  suspected  ?  That  we  were 
being  watched  in  there  ^" 

"Fm  afraid  so,"  admitted  Quelch  apolo- 
getically. "As  you  said  yourself,  this  is  a 
wicked  place." 

They  got  into  the  car,  and  he  asked  per- 
mission to  accompany  them,  suggesting  a 
drive  round  the  open  mine.  Loree  did  not 
mention  that  she  had  already  been  there. 
She  longed  to  see  it  again.     Mrs  Cork  sulk- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     35 

ily  declared  that,  though  she  did  not  mind 
prolonging  the  drive,  she  wanted  no  more  to 
do  with  mines.  When  they  reached  the  big 
hole,  she  closed  her  eyes,  tucked  herself  under 
her  mauve  sunshade  and  said  they  could  in- 
spect it  if  they  liked,  but  that  her  interest 
in  the  diamond  industry  was  damped  for 
ever. 

"I  believe  she  is  really  upset,"  said  Loree 
to  Quelch,  as  they  walked  away. 

*'She  need  not  be.  The  rule  of  watching 
is  never  relaxed.  Every  one  is  suspect  while 
in  contact  with  diamonds,  and  no  one 
trusted.     Even  the  watchers  are  watched.'* 

"How  curious — and  how  terrible !" 

"In  spite  of  it,  many  thousands  of  pounds' 
worth  are  stolen  every  year." 

They  looked  down  into  the  mine.  The 
pit's  colourings  ranged  from  surface  red  and 
yellowish  clay  to  the  famous  "blue  ground" 
in  which  the  gems  are  found.  Far  below, 
amid  the  jutting  blocks  of  rusty  rocks  that 
are  the  barren   "reef,"   tiny  figures  moved 


36     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

busily,  pushing  infinitesimal  trucks.  But 
Quelch  explained  that  surface  work  had  prac- 
tically ceased.  The  real  labour  took  place 
out  of  sight. 

"It  is  down  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  that 
the  work  goes  on,"  he  said.  "Thousands  of 
natives  groping  and  toiling  in  the  gloom — 
for  women."  He  had  only  put  her  own 
thoughts  into  words,  but,  somehow,  spoken 
in  his  arresting  tones,  the  fact  became  more 
potent.  "I  was  going  to  say  for  women  like 
you,  but  that  would  have  been  foolish. 
There  is  no  other  woman  in  the  world  like 
you." 

His  habit  of  looking  abstractedly  into  dis- 
tance while  he  talked  lent  an  impersonal 
note  to  his  remarks  that  was  strangely  con- 
tradicted by  his  voice.  Young  as  she  was, 
Loree  Temple  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  hom- 
age before  now,  and  learned  when  it  is  fitting 
to  lightly  accept  or  coldly  pass  them  by. 
But  this  man's  homage,  both  bold  and  sub- 
tle, was  outside  of  her  experience.    She  was 


PinJc  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     37 

a  little  frightened — disturbed  yet  held  in 
thrall.  She  had  an  instinct  that  he  was  dan- 
gerous, but  wild  horses  could  not  have 
dragged  her  away.  In  the  meantime,  she 
used  such  women's  gifts  as  the  good  God  had 
given  her.    She  gave  a  little  careless  laugh. 

"Oh — there  are  lots  of  women  like  me  in 
the  world.  But  diamonds  are  not  for  all  of 
us." 

He  looked  steadily  across  the  mine. 

"If  I  believed  there  was  another *' 


Perhaps  he  saw  the  fleeting  glance  she  cast 
toward  the  car,  for  he  broke  off  abruptly,  and 
she  did  not  hear  what  would  happen  if  he 
believed  there  was  another  woman  like  her 
in  the  world.  But  her  pulses  were  beating 
furiously.  If  some  one  had  tried  to  push  her 
into  the  mine  and  she  had  escaped  by  a  hair's 
breadth,  she  could  not  have  been  more  in- 
wardly perturbed.  Yet  there  was  no  out- 
ward and  visible  occasion  for  it.  He  was 
talking  calmly  and  interestingly  as  he  had 
done    the    night    before,    about    diamonds. 


38      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

They  were  not  for  everybody,  he  said,  but 
for  beauty  only.  From  Cleopatra  down  to 
Cleo  de  Merode  it  had  been  the  same.  The 
advent  of  a  lovely  woman,  duchess  or  actress, 
into  the  world  affects  the  diamond  market 
as  the  sensitive  plant  is  affected  by  the  ap- 
proach of  a  human  hand.  A  thousand  waves 
and  wheels  are  set  in  motion.  Dealers,  de- 
signers, skilled  workmen,  and  common  cutter 
— all  feel  the  magnetic  thrill.  Even  the 
thieves  in  the  underworld  become  busier  and 
greater  quantities  of  raw  diamonds  are  stolen. 
Buyers  make  hurried  journeys  to  Amster- 
dam and  Antwerp. 

Parcels  of  rare  stones  change  hands.  Im- 
mense sums  are  expended  on  pure  chance — 
as  in  the  case  of  the  famous  necklace  com- 
menced in  France  immediately  on  the  advent 
of  Dubarry  into  Royal  favour  and  after- 
wards bought  by  Rohan  for  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, becoming  the  clou  of  the  great  Court 
Scandal.  In  modern  time  such  beautiful 
women  as  Mrs  Langtry,  Cora  Brown-Potter, 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     39 

Gaby  Deslys,  Pavlova  and  Edna  May  had 
all  had  their  influence  on  the  diamond  mar- 
ket and  set  it  moving.  Beauty  was  the  pivot 
round  which  the  diamond  market  revolved, 
he  said.  The  jewels  that  fill  shop  windows 
are,  it  seems,  only  for  ordinary  women.  For 
the  extraordinary  ones,  something  special 
must  be  made.  For  them  the  combination  of 
flawless  stones,  exquisite  enamels,  and  rare 
design. 

It  was  strangely  interesting  to  hear  these 
things.  Loree  did  not  know  why  they  should 
move  her  so  profoundly,  and  become  all 
mixed  up  with  the  sparkling  joys  of  the  flow- 
ers in  her  enchanted  garden.  Perhaps  the 
fluting  of  Pan  had  something  to  do  with  it. 

When  they  returned  to  the  car,  Mrs  Cork 
had  recovered  her  good  humour.  Quelch 
proposed  a  drive  to  Alexandersfontein  (a  sort 
of  Southern  Coney  Island)  and  dismissing 
the  chauffeur,  took  the  wheel  himself.  Loree 
had  the  sensation  of  tasting  life  very  sweet 
between  the  lips  as  they  flew  along  through 


40      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

the  cooling  air  into  the  heart  of  a  blazing  sun- 
set. She  knew  that  the  strangely  attractive 
man  beside  her  was  more  than  a  little  in  love 
with  her — and  when  will  such  knowledge 
cease  to  exhilarate  a  woman's  blood  *?  The 
only  crumpled  rose-leaf  in  her  happy  cup  was 
an  accident  that  happened  as  they  dis- 
mounted from  the  car  for  tea.  Quelch 
stepped  on  her  frock  and  tore  it  from  its 
gathers,  necessitating  her  retiral  to  a  dress- 
ing-room and  the  assistance  of  a  maid,  who 
took  some  time  to  fix  it  up.  Mrs  Cork's  tem- 
per appeared  to  be  of  uncertain  quality  and 
unable  to  bear  strain  of  any  kind,  for  she 
looked  very  sulky  at  being  kept  waiting  for 
her  tea,  and  all  Loree's  apologies  (on  her 
return)  and  Quelch's  civilities,  surmounted 
by  a  heavenly  tea,  could  not  disperse  her 
gloom.  She  said  that  the  drive  had  made 
her  eyes  ache,  and  the  sight  of  strawberries 
and  cream  made  her  sick.  For  the  homeward 
drive  Loree  offered  her  the  front  seat,  but 
she  preferred  silence  and  solitude  in  the  body 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     41 

of  the  car,  and  the  others  did  not  deny  her. 
When  two  people  are  on  the  brink  of  an  en- 
trancing flirtation,  they  cannot  truthfully 
"grieve  as  them  that  have  no  hope,"  if  they 
are  left  to  themselves.  In  the  warm  rush- 
ing darkness  of  the  night  no  word  was  ex- 
changed between  Quelch  and  Loree,  but  they 
advanced  quite  a  long  way  on  the  perilous 
path  of  forbidden  primroses.  Arrived  at  the 
hotel,  Mrs  Cork  said  abruptly: 

"You  won't  see  me  again  to-night.  I've 
got  one  of  my  awful  headaches  and  shall  go 
straight  to  bed !" 

They  breathed  sad  sympathy  over  her, 
smiling  in  their  hearts.  It  was  plain  to  see 
that  the  poor  woman  was  suffering.  Her  at- 
tractiveness had  quite  gone,  and  her  skin 
taken  a  yellowish  pallor  with  heavy  lines 
about  her  eyes.  Loree  was  really  sorry,  but 
the  heart  of  youth  is  light,  and  the  troubles 
of  other  people  do  not  unduly  depress  it. 
Moreover,  she  was  in  the  throes  of  the  first 
interesting  thing  that  had  happened  to  her 


42      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

since  she  married  Pat  Temple  a  year  ago. 
She  was  sure  that  she  was  very  strong  and 
clever  and  well  able  to  look  after  herself, 
and  keep  Quelch  where  he  ought  to  be  kept — 
outside  of  Pat  Temple's  garden  of  happiness. 
But  it  was  fascinating  to  philander  over  the 
gate,  and  would  hurt  no  one  who  ought  not 
to  he  hurt, 

"I  don't  want  to  make  him  unhappy,  of 
course,"  she  murmured  virtuously,  as  she  hur- 
ried out  of  her  afternoon  things  and  splashed 
herself  with  cooling  waters.  "But  if  men 
will  go  looking  for  scalps,  they  must  expect 
a  few  scars." 

It  was  past  the  dinner-hour.  She  flung  on 
the  little  black  gown  and  fastened  Pat's 
pearls  in  her  ears  and  about  her  neck.  They 
seemed  extraordinary  unimaginative  orna- 
ments, somehow — not  a  sparkle  or  glimmer 
about  them  anywhere.  More  virtuous  in- 
dignation moved  her — this  time  against  the 
giver  of  the  pearls. 

"If  I  flirt  a  little  it  is  his  fault  for  leaving 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     43 

me  behind  in  this  dull  place — while  he  is  en- 
joying himself." 

Even  her  own  cheek  blushed  at  this  cas- 
uistry, and  a  photograph  of  Pat  on  the  man- 
telpiece gave  her  a  reproachful  glance.  She 
remembered  that  she  had  not  written  to  him 
that  day. 

"I  will  after  dinner,"  she  murmured. 
"Not  that  he  deserves  it.  If  he  really  cared 
for  me  he  would  not  neglect  me  in  this  man- 
ner." 

Another  blush  brightened  her  cheek.  But 
it  only  served  to  enhance  the  violet  of  her 
eyes. 

Needless  to  say,  she  did  not  write  after 
dinner.  It  was  so  very  pleasant  sitting  in  the 
verandah,  smelling  the  drenched  roses  out 
in  the  gloom  of  the  garden  and  listening  to 
Quelch's  voice.  He  no  longer  talked  about 
diamonds,  but  about  life.  Of  its  loneliness. 
Of  its  irony.  Of  chance  that  comes  too  late. 
Of  being  rich  and  going  empty.  Of  suffer- 
ing thirst  and  knowing  the  torment  of  mi- 


44      Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

rage.  Of  the  desolation  of  being  on  the  wrong 
side  of  the  gate  of  the  one  "blue  garden"  in 
all  the  wide  desert  of  the  world.  Among  the 
things  that  she  learned  was  that  it  is  not 
right  for  any  woman's  hair  to  have  the  rich 
red  browns  of  the  back  of  an  old  violin — a 
priceless  Stradivarius — and  that  when  a  man 
sees  a  certain  plaintive  priez-pour-moi  look  in 
a  woman's  eyes,  he  is  ready  to  throw  his  im- 
mortal soul  under  her  feet. 

She  felt  extremely  elated  when  she  went 
up  to  bed  at  somewhere  about  eleven  o'clock. 
It  had  been  a  charming  evening,  and  the  mor- 
row held  a  further  prospect.  Quelch  was  to 
fetch  her  in  his  racing  car  at  five  and  take  her 
to  see  the  Rhodes  Memorial. 

Her  garments  of  the  afternoon  still  lay  in 
confusion  about  the  room.  The  servants  had 
turned  down  the  bed  and  arranged  the  mos- 
quito-net, but  everything  else  was  as  she  had 
left  it.  She  began  to  pick  up  things  and  put 
them  away,  but  her  mind  was  preoccupied. 
She  stopped  to  examine  the  colour  of  her 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     45 

hair  in  the  glass  as  though  she  had  never  seen 
it  before.  And  she  looked  long  at  her  eyes. 
Had  they  really  a  priez-pour-moi  expression*? 
At  last  she  hung  up  her  gown  and  prepared 
leisurely  for  bed.  Her  gloves  lay  flung  on 
the  dressing-table,  and  she  took  them  up  and 
put  them  into  a  drawer.  Then  she  stood  still 
staring.  Where  the  gloves  had  lain  some- 
thing glittered.  Something  was  lying  there 
like  a  fallen  star. 

At  first  she  hardly  dared  touch  it.  But  at 
length  she  lifted  it  tremulously  and  gazed 
into  its  scintillating  heart.  It  was  the  lovely 
dog-rose  diamond  that  had  nestled  in  her 
palm  that  afternoon.  The  touch  of  it 
warmed  her  all  through,  then  slowly  froze 
her  into  fright.  How  had  it  come  there? 
The  only  possible  explanation  seemed  to  be 
that,  after  playing  with  and  handling  the 
diamonds,  this  one  had  slipped  into  some  fold 
of  her  clothes  and  been  brought  home  by  her. 
The  alternative  was  that  some  one  had 
brought  it  and  placed  it  on  her  dressing-table. 


46     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

But  that  seemed  too  fantastic.  The  one 
person  connected  in  her  mind  with  this  stone 
was  Quelch.  Yet  she  had  found  him  in  the 
dining-room  when  she  went  down  and  had 
been  with  him  ever  since.  Who  on  earth 
would  have  any  object  in  leaving  a  valuable 
diamond  on  her  dressing-table?  She  must 
have  brought  it  herself.  But  how  terrible! 
The  watching  detectives  must  know  that  it 
was  missing.  Even  now  she  might  be  under 
suspicion  of  stealing  it  I  A  wild  impulse 
came  to  her  to  fly  and  tell  Quelch.  But  he 
had  gone  to  bed,  and  she  did  not  know  where 
his  room  was.  Besides,  she  realised  in  a  mo- 
ment that  was  an  impossible  idea.  Quelch 
was  the  last  person  she  could  go  to.  Mrs 
Cork,  then?  But  her  room  was  also  un- 
known. And  she  was  so  bad-tempered  and 
would  be  furious  at  being  disturbed.  It  was 
late,  too.  Midnight.  She  had  been  daw- 
dling and  dreaming  longer  than  she  supposed. 
Impossible  to  do  anything  about  it  until 
morning.     With   the   decision  came   relief. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     47 

There  was  poignant  pleasure  in  the  thought 
that  she  could  spend  the  night  alone  with  the 
rose-coloured  diamond! 

For  another  hour  or  more  she  stood  turn- 
ing the  smiling  thing  in  her  hand,  twisting 
it,  flashing  it  this  way  and  that.  It  was  the 
size  of  a  good-shaped  pea,  only  flatter  and 
exquisitely  cut.  Its  rays  seemed  to  mesmerise 
her  eyes  and  paralyse  her  will.  At  last  she 
finished  undressing  and  approached  the  bed. 
Kneeling  down,  she  murmured  her  prayers 
as  usual,  but  mechanically,  her  eyes  fixed  all 
the  time  on  the  heart  of  rose-pink  fire  lying 
before  her.  An  unrequested  phrase  thrust  it- 
self into  her  mind: 

Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols. 

She  could  not  remember  where  such  an 
odd  injunction  came  from.  It  sounded  like 
the  Bible  and  reminded  her  of  her  child- 
hood, so  she  thrust  it  out  of  her  mind  again 
quickly.  Neither  the  Bible  nor  her  childhood 
harmonised  with  the  rose-red  diamond.  She 
got  into  bed,  taking  the  stone  with  her,  and 


48     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

lay  awake  a  long  time  watching  it.  At 
length,  when  her  eyes  grew  heavy,  she  slid 
it  under  her  pillow  just  beneath  her  head. 
But  even  in  her  sleep  her  hand  jealously 
guarded  the  treasure. 

As  soon  as  she  woke,  her  first  thought  was 
how  lovely  it  would  look  in  the  morning 
light.  Eagerly  she  drew  it  forth  and  plunged 
her  gaze  once  more  into  its  mysterious  depths. 
Hitherto,  her  happy  custom  had  been  to  rise 
and  seek  the  breakfast-table  with  healthy  in- 
terest. But  to-day  she  broke  her  habit  and 
stayed  long  abed  with  her  fascinating  com- 
panion. She  felt  no  hunger  or  thirst  but  for 
its  beauty.  Besides,  it  was  safer  in  her  room. 
She  had  an  idea  that  if  she  once  opened  her 
door,  the  delicious  thing  might  be  ravished 
from  her  grasp.  Who  knew?  Perhaps  a 
hateful  detective  waited  in  the  corridor!  A 
plan  must  be  formulated  by  which  she  could 
thwart  any  evil-intentioned  person  and  keep 
the  diamond  in  her  possession.  After  all,  it 
was  hers.    Plainly  it  was  hers.     Was  there 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     49 

not  a  sort  of  magic  predestination  about  the 
whole  affair?  Quelch  had  said,  when  the 
diamond  lay  in  her  palm,  that  it  seemed  as 
if  it  wished  to  be  there — as  if  it  knew  it  had 
been  sought  and  found  for  her.  And  lo! — 
she  had  found  it.  It  had  come  to  her — fol- 
lowed of  its  own  accord!  If  that  was  not 
lawful  possession,  she  would  like  to  know 
what  was.  Surely  a  natural  preference  on 
the  part  of  the  diamond  should  rank  higher 
than  any  mere  stupid  diamond  law ! 

The  question  next  arose  as  to  where  to  keep 
it  out  of  the  range  of  vulgar  and  prying  eyes 
yet  in  her  close  and  constant  company.  The 
answer  was : — a  tiny  bag  to  be  slung  round 
her  neck  and  hidden  in  her  bosom.  Dili- 
gently she  hunted  for  a  scrap  of  silk  and  a 
needle  and  cotton.  Then  as  the  air  in  her 
room  was  close,  and  the  be-blinded  balcony, 
which  ran  all  round  the  square-built  hotel, 
seemed  steeped  in  silence  and  solitude,  she 
stepped  out  of  the  French  window  and  seated 
herself  in  a  basket  chair.    The  diamond  lay 


50     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

in  her  lap  and  blinked  at  her  lazily  while 
she  sewed.  She  felt  like  a  happy  young 
mother  making  a  dainty  garment  for  her 
baby. 

So  peaceful  and  preoccupied  was  she  that 
Mrs  Cork,  coming  suddenly  round  a  comer, 
was  upon  her  before  she  was  aware.  She 
caught  the  treasure  up  in  her  clenched  hand, 
but  not  before  the  shrewd  eye  of  the  other 
had  spied  it  out. 

"But  how  lovely!"  she  cried.  "What  is 
itr 

"Only  a  little  pink  topaz  of  mine,"  said 
Loree  calmly,  and  held  it  fast  and  hidden. 
But  her  heart  beat  wildly  and  her  cheek  was 
pinker  than  any  topaz  ever  found  on  an  is- 
land in  the  Red  Sea. 

"Ah,"  said  Valeria  Cork,  "I've  never  seen 
a  pink  topaz  close  enough  to  really  examine 
it." 

This  was  a  plain  hint,  but  Loree  sewed 
furiously,  her  left  hand  clutching  both  stone 
and  silk. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     51 

"And  what  is  the  little  bag  for*?" 
Without  hesitation  Loree  answered  firmly. 
"To  wear  a  piece  of  camphor  in  round  my 
neck." 

"But  there  is  no  epidemic  about,  is  there*?" 

"No:  it's  just  a  superstition  of  mine." 

Brusquely  she  rose,  stuffing  sewing  and 

stone  into  her  pocket.     She  glanced  at  her 

inquisitor  coldly.    We  usually  dislike  people 

to  whom  we  are  obliged  to  lie. 

"How  dreadfully  ill  you  look!"  she  re- 
marked, with  an  accent  on  the  "dreadfully." 
A  faint  colour  came  into  the  elder  woman's 
cheek.  She  had  looked  upon  the  face  of 
forty,  and  to-day  the  fact  was  painfully  re- 
vealed. The  contrast  between  herself  and 
the  girl  in  all  the  bloom  and  heyday  of  youth 
was  striking. 

"Bad  heads  take  time  to  get  over,"  she 

said  curtly,  "and  it  is  stuffy  in  one's  room." 

"Ah  yes.     Where  is  your  room*?"  asked 

Loree  eagerly.    Anything  to  get  away  from 

the  subject  of  topazes  and  camphor-bags. 


52     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

''On  the  hot  side  of  the  hotel,"  said  Mrs 
Cork  dryly.  "We  can't  all  afford  the  best 
side,  like  you." 

This  was  the  first  time  Loree  had  heard  of 
a  best  or  worst  side  but  not  the  first  time  it 
had  been  brought  home  to  her  that,  where 
she  was  concerned,  Pat  never  considered  the 
best  too  good. 

"I  should  have  come  round  to  you  last 
night  if  I  had  known  where  your  room  was," 
she  said  thoughtlessly. 

Valeria  Cork  looked  surprised. 

"Why*?    Did  you  need  anything?" 

"Only  to  borrow  an  aspirin  tablet,"  said 
Lore«,  looking  sweet  and  pure  and  good,  and 
as  though  she  had  never  told  a  lie  in  her  life. 
And,  in  fact,  until  this  morning,  lying  had 
not  been  among  her  accomplishments. 

"You  had  better  come  round  now;  then 
you  will  know  where  I  am  if  you  want  me 
any  time,"  suggested  the  other,  and  they 
strolled  idly  round  the  balcony.  There  was 
no  one  about  except  a  negro  flicking  dust 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     53 

from  chairs  and  glancing  with  sleepy  black 
eyes  into  the  open  bedrooms  as  he  passed. 

Mrs  Cork's  room  was  indeed  tiny,  and  not 
to  be  compared  with  Loree's  for  comfort. 
She  proffered  cigarettes  and  gave  her  visitor 
the  most  comfortable  chair.  There  were 
beautiful  ivory  articles  on  the  dressing-table, 
but  they  were  yellow  from  use  and  the  mono- 
grams faded.  The  silk  wrapper  she  was 
wearing  had  a  faded  loveliness,  too.  All  her 
possessions  wore  an  air  of  yesterday,  as  of 
things  bought  in  prosperity  and  never  re- 
newed. The  only  up-to-date  object  was  a 
photograph  of  a  hopeful-looking  boy  in  his 
teens.  On  inquiry,  Loree  discovered  that  this 
was  her  only  son,  and  was  vaguely  surprised 
to  hear  the  name  of  the  public  school  he  was 
at — one  of  the  most  expensive  in  England. 
He  had  his  mother's  handsome  eyes,  but  not 
their  haggard  glance. 

The  two  women  gossiped  awhile,  then 
Loree  rose,  saying  she  must  dress  for  lunch- 
eon.   Mrs  Cork  announced  her  intentions  of 


54     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

lying  down  again,  as  her  headache  was  re- 
turning. 

In  her  bedroom,  Loree  hastened  to  finish 
the  little  bag  and  place  her  treasure  in  it. 
When  it  lay  in  her  warm  bosom,  she  felt 
excited  yet  curiously  content.  The  prickle  of 
it  against  her  skin  was  as  pleasing  to  her  as 
the  rasp  of  his  hair  shirt  to  the  saintly  her- 
mit. She  went  down  to  lunch  in  a  kind  of 
dream  of  joy.  Quelch  was  not  there.  He 
always  lunched  at  his  club.  There  were  but 
few  people  about,  and  those  casual  and  un- 
interesting. No  one  looked  like  a  detective. 
Loree  felt  secure,  but  not  calm.  Her  fever- 
ish desire  was  to  be  alone  with  her  twinkling 
treasure  once  more,  and  she  wasted  no  time 
in  getting  back  to  her  room. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  she  dressed  hurriedly 
in  a  delightful  frock  of  transparent  blue  mus- 
lin the  colour  of  asphodels,  and  prepared  for 
her  drive  with  Quelch.  When  she  glanced 
into  the  mirror  just  before  leaving,  she  saw 
that,  like  Bathsheba,  she  was  fair  to  look 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     55 

upon.  But  it  was  a  new  and  glittering 
beauty  that  she  had.  Her  cheek  glowed ;  her 
eyes  burned.  Pat  Temple  would  hardly  have 
known  his  wife. 

Quelch's  eyes  told  her  even  more  than  the 
mirror.  As  she  came  down  the  main  stair- 
way, she  saw  him  standing  in  the  hall,  read- 
ing a  letter  which  had  just  been  handed  to 
him  from  the  office.  Its  perusal  seemed  to 
afford  him  pleasure,  but  nothing  like  the  un- 
feigned gladness  with  which  he  looked  up  at 
her.  Neither  he  nor  any  one  else  could  have 
guessed  from  outward  and  visible  signs  that 
the  sweet  vision  in  diaphanous  draperies  of 
Madonna  blue  carried  a  canker  at  her  heart 
— a  canker  in  a  little  silk  bag. 

The  racing  car  was  at  the  door — a  keen- 
nosed  silvery  affair,  with  no  seats,  only  flat 
cushions  of  sleek  grey  silk.  They  had  to 
climb  over  the  sides  and  sit  cheek  by  jowl  on 
the  floor,  and  there  was  a  great  sheaf  of  scar- 
let roses  for  Loree's  lap.  It  is  no  use  deny- 
ing  that   these   charming   attentions   touch 


56     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

women  deeply.  Only  stupid  men  underrate 
the  magic  influence  of  gifts,  especially  the 
fragrant  gift  of  flowers.  Those  roses  scented 
all  the  afternoon. 

Quelch  had  the  art  of  communicating  him- 
self without  words.  Loree  was  acutely  aware 
of  his  insolent  pride  in  her  beauty  as  they 
drove  through  the  streets.  Men  possess  a 
curious  degree  this  scratch-brant  delight  in 
the  lust  of  the  eye  and  pride  of  life.  In 
Africa,  perhaps  they  indulge  it  more  than 
in  most  places.  Climate  may  have  something 
to  do  with  it,  but  it  is  a  dull  affair  to  be  a 
plain  woman  there,  and  to  be  a  pretty  one 
singularly  intoxicating.  There  was  something 
barbaric  in  the  warm,  bold  satisfaction  of 
Quelch's  eyes  as  they  rested  on  her.  She  had 
the  sense  once  more  of  living  life  to  the  full, 
and  that  old  dream  of  hers  of  driving 
triumphant  through  the  streets  of  Rome 
seemed  curiously  fulfilled.  It  was  not 
strange  to  hear  him  say,  very  low : 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     57 

"Don't  you  feel  that  we  have  been  to- 
gether before  somewhere?" 

She  did  not  answer,  only  smiled.  A  blue 
ripple  of  her  gown  resting  on  his  grey-clad 
knee  acted  like  an  electric  current  between 
them. 

The  Rhodes  Memorial  stands  a  little  way 
out  of  the  town — a  rather  enchanted-looking 
Asian  Temple,  built  of  sandstone  from  the 
Matoppo  Hills.  They  climbed  its  steep 
stairs  and  stood  gazing  from  marble-pillared 
openings  at  a  great  vista  of  empty  veld  and 
a  far  line  of  hills.  The  Boers  occupied  those 
hills  during  the  siege,  and  peppered  Kimber- 
ley  with  fifteen  hundred  shells  from  their 
Long  Tom,  being  blithely  answered  by  Long 
Cecil,  the  big  gun  made  in  the  De  Beers  work- 
shops. Quelch  recounted  the  tragic  fate  of 
Labran,  the  maker  of  this  gun,  who  was 
killed  by  the  second  response  from  Long 
Tom. 

Afterward,  he  fell  into  silence.  It  was 
Loree  who  talked  lightly  and  incessantly. 


58     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

She  had  become  aware  of  the  danger  of  si- 
lence. When  you  are  loitering  on  the  peril- 
ous precipices,  where  the  fire-flowers  blow, 
words  are  little  ropes  and  holds  by  which  you 
keep  your  footing.  But  Quelch  smiled  like 
a  man  who  has  his  feet  on  firm  ground,  and 
enfolded  her  always  with  his  bold  yet  subtle 
glance. 

She  was  vaguely  thankful  for  the  presence 
of  a  man  reading  on  a  bench,  and  when 
Quelch  wanted  to  drive  her  out  into  the 
empty  veld,  which  the  sinking  sun  had 
flooded  with  blood-red  light,  she  resisted  the 
adventure,  murmuring  that  she  must  return 
and  write  a  letter  to  catch  the  night  post  for 
Rhodesia. 

His  face  darkened  at  the  words.  Pat 
Temple  had  never  been  mentioned  between 
them,  but  Loree  felt  no  doubt  that  he  knew 
where  her  husband  was  and  all  about  him. 
One  of  the  first  things  you  learn  in  Africa  is 
that  every  one  knows  your  private  affairs 
nearly  as  well  as  you  do  yourself. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     59 

So  the  drive  into  the  veld  was  renounced, 
but  home  was  reached  only  by  a  route  both 
long  and  obvious.  Loree  missed  the  post  for 
Rhodesia  by  just  ten  minutes.  There  was 
time  for  nothing  before  dinner  except  a  few 
moments'  secret  genuflection  at  the  shrine  of 
a  rose-pink  idol.  And  after  dinner  time  flew 
past  in  the  same  astonishing  fashion  of  the 
previous  evening.  Mrs  Cork's  headache  had 
evidently  persisted,  for  she  did  not  appear, 
and  they  neither  missed  nor  mourned  her. 
Instead  of  sitting  in  the  verandah,  where 
the  rest  of  the  world  was  liable  to  note  the 
silence  that  now  held  between  them,  they 
walked  in  the  garden  among  the  wet  roses 
and  languorously  scented  night-flowers. 
Playing  with  danger  is  fascinating  anywhere, 
but  in  Africa  the  mise  en  scene  is  always  spe- 
cially arranged  for  this  pastime. 

Next  morning,  by  the  early  post  there  was 
news  from  Pat.  He  had  been  down  with  a 
touch  of  malaria,  and  the  Wingates  were 
looking  after  him.    Ethel  Wingate  was  a  re- 


60     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

mote  cousin  and  her  husband  an  old  school- 
friend.  They  had  not  much  money,  Pat 
wrote,  but  it  was  wonderful  to  see  their  hap- 
piness. They  had  been  married  ten  years 
and  never  parted  a  day,  weathering  storms 
and  sunshine  together. 

"It  has  made  me  think  a  bit  (the  letter 
ran)  and  realise  that  while  one  is  busy  hus- 
tling about  the  earth,  piling  up  a  fortune  for 
the  future,  one  may  be  missing  something 
more  important  in  the  present.  What  do  you 
think,  darling  mine*?" 

Loree  was  disturbed  by  the  question,  as  a 
happy  dreamer  might  be  disturbed  by  a 
shout  in  the  ear.  She  had  closed  the  door  of 
her  thinking  mind  for  the  time  being,  and 
did  not  wish  to  open  it,  for  fear  of  what  was 
crouching  there — a  little  drab-faced  thing 
called  conscience.  She  desired  no  communi- 
cation with  that  thing,  nor  with  her  soul, 
which  was  a  soul  obsessed.  The  best  way 
to  forget  Pat's  query  was  to  get  out  the  little 
idol  that  lay  in  her  bosom,  and  lose  herself 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     61 

in  its  sparkling  loveliness.  But,  somehow, 
it  did  not  look  quite  so  beautiful  as  before. 
Its  lustre  seemed  dimmed.  Its  fires  had 
paled  a  little.  This  annoyed  her.  She  felt 
as  if  she  were  being  cheated  in  the  value  of 
something  for  which  she  had  paid  a  heavy 
price. 

Discontent  seized  her,  and  she  went  down 
to  lunch  feverishly  anxious  for  any  excite- 
ment that  would  revive  the  delicious  spell 
under  which  she  had  lain  for  forty-eight 
hours  and  which  now  appeared  to  be  dying 
off.  Quelch  was  sitting  in  the  hall,  gossip- 
ing idly  with  Mrs  Cork  and  watching  the 
staircase.  His  habit  of  lunching  at  the  club, 
for  reasons  of  his  own  not  far  to  seek,  had 
been  renounced.  If  ever  a  man  took  a 
woman  into  his  arms  with  his  eyes,  he  did 
it  as  Loree  came  toward  him.  The  excite- 
ment she  sought  was  supplied.  Hot  colour 
surged  in  her  cheek  and  glowed  to  her  hair. 

Valeria  Cork's  cynical  eye  computed  the 
situation,   and  she  smiled  somewhat  dryly 


62     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

behind  her  cigarette.  She  was  looking  bet- 
ter, but  still  proclaimed  her  inability  for 
dissipation  of  any  kind,  and  refused  Quelch's 
invitation  to  the  theatre  that  night.  He  had 
a  box  for  The  Gay  Lord  Quex.  Loree  hesi- 
tated to  accept  alone.  But  they  both  seemed 
to  think  it  surprisingly  simple  of  her  to  sup- 
pose that  there  were  any  conventions  of  out- 
rage in  South  Africa,  also  that,  as  a  mar- 
ried woman,  she  did  not  do  as  she  pleased. 
Put  on  her  pride  in  this  manner  of  course 
she  decided  to  go.  Something  fluttered  like 
a  frightened  bird  behind  that  door  of  her 
mind  (or  heart,  or  soul)  which  she  had  so 
carefully  closed.  It  might  have  been  the  lit- 
tle drab-faced  conscience.  However,  a  fas- 
cinating champagne  cocktail  drugged  it  into 
silence,  and  they  enjoyed  a  merry  lunch  to- 
gether. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  about  as  busily 
as  the  lilies  of  the  field  spend  their  after- 
noons. She  rested  a  good  deal,  shook  out 
her  best  gown  for  the  evening,  tried  a  new 


FinJc  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     63 

way  of  doing  her  hair,  and  brooded  over  the 
diamond  in  an  effort  to  recapture  the  first 
fine  early  magic  of  possession.  In  this  she 
was  not  altogether  successful,  but,  at  any 
rate,  she  managed  to  obliterate  from  her 
memory  Pat's  query  and  the  general  wist- 
fulness  of  his  letter.  That,  at  least,  was 
something  accomplished,  something  done  to 
earn  a  night's  amusement. 

Certainly  the  lilies  of  the  field  could  not 
have  been  fairer  than  she,  descending  at  eight 
"clothed  in  white  samite,  mystic,  wonder- 
ful," and  wearing  Pat's  rope  of  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  pearls.  The  only  colour 
about  her  was  her  radiant  hair,  but  hiding 
under  her  heart  a  little  pink  god  smiled  and 
sparkkd  in  secret. 

She  looked  ravissante.  No  wonder  every 
man  in  the  hotel  found  a  good  and  proper 
reason  for  being  in  the  hall  while  Quelch  put 
on  her  wraps  and  conducted  her  to  the  car. 
Many  a  glance  of  admiration  came  her  way, 
mingled  with  undisguised  envy  of  her  com- 


64     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

panion.  Afterward,  some  grinned  with  joy 
at  the  prospect  of  the  indomitable  Quelch 
riding  to  a  fall ;  some  derided  the  absent  hus- 
band, and  some  pitied  the  woman.  But  the 
two  in  the  car  recked  nothing.  Quelch's 
philosophy  was  that  if  you  are  strong  enough, 
will  pay  high  enough,  and  play  a  waiting 
game  skilfully  enough,  you  can  get  most 
things  for  yourself,  even  unto  your  heart's 
desire.  Loree's  experience  of  waiting  games 
and  players  who  compute  the  value  of  every 
gambit  was  absolutely  nil,  and  her  philoso- 
phy, such  as  it  was,  took  no  account  of  the 
disintegrating  influences  of  climate,  flattery, 
sparkling  things,  and  the  pits  that  vanity 
digs  for  the  feet.  She  was  entirely  occupied 
with  being  beautiful  and  desirable  and  ad- 
mired of  all  men,  especially  the  one  at  her 
side.  It  seemed  as  if  the  earth  was  for  her 
and  the  fulness  thereof.  It  is  a  delusion 
many  women  have  while  walking  on  the  edge 
of  the  ravine  where  the  fire-flowers  blow. 
If  Quelch's  methods  had  been  less  fine,  she 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     65 

might  have  been  safer.  Because  he  was  so 
very  quiet  and  gentle,  refraining  even  from 
touching  her  hand,  she  inclined  to  believe 
herself  very  wise  and  secure.  Yet,  in  the 
closed  and  silent  car,  there  was  a  certain 
breathlessness.  Once  she  had  a  sensation  of 
drowning  in  the  scent  of  roses.  Arrival  at 
the  theatre  was  almost  like  a  rescue. 

Surrounded  by  people  and  lights  and 
noise,  she  became  very  brilliant  and  gay. 
Her  remarks  sparkled  like  the  jewels  on  the 
white  shoulders  of  the  women  in  the  audi- 
ence. All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  lovely 
red-haired  girl  alone  in  a  box  with  Quelch. 
She  got  more  attention  than  Pinero's  play. 
But  on  the  return  drive  she  was  less  sure  of 
herself.  Quelch's  eyes,  as  he  had  watched 
and  listened  to  her  all  the  evening,  made  her 
afraid,  and  the  intimate  silence  of  the  car 
was  a  fresh  plunge  into  the  sea  of  roses  that 
had  power  to  suffocate.  Her  gaiety  became 
a  little  forced.  She  sat  apart  in  her  comer 
as  if  attempting  to  isolate  herself.     la  her 


66     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

companion,  there  was  no  departure  from  the 
gentleness  he  always  used;  but  half-way 
home,  in  his  tender,  velvety  voice,  he  asked 
a  question: 

"Do  you  remember  saying  there  were 
other  women  like  you  in  the  world?" 

"Of  course."  She  essayed  to  laugh 
lightly,  but  the  silence  that  followed  had 
nothing  reassuring  in  it.  The  car  drew  up 
at  the  hotel  entrance  before  he  spoke  again. 

"If  I  thought  there  was  another,  I  would 
seek  her  day  and  night,  and  never  rest  until 
she  was  in  my  arms — mine!" 

The  chauffeur  opened  the  door.  Quelch 
helped  her  to  descend,  and  they  entered  the 
dim  hall.  Without  meeting  his  glance,  she 
bade  him  good  night  and  passed  swiftly  up- 
stairs, well  aware  that  he  remained  standing 
there,  following  her  with  his  eyes.  Breath- 
lessly she  closed  and  locked  the  door  upon 
herself.  But  she  could  not  shut  out  the  agi- 
tation of  her  veins  or  the  wild  beating  of  her 
heart.    Fright  had  come  into  the  room  with 


Fink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     67 

her.  The  thing  had  gone  too  far — grown 
too  big  for  the  manipulation  of  the  little 
hands  she  had  thought  so  clever.  She  sat 
staring  at  them,  and  at  the  white  reflection 
of  herself  in  the  glass.  Flirtation  had  over- 
swept  the  neat  confines  laid  down  by  her, 
and  come  washing  over  in  a  big  wave  that 
had  nearly  overwhelmed  her.  This  would 
never  do.  She  must  get  back  to  where  she 
was  before,  on  the  safe  and  unassailable  rock 
where  she  had  always  dwelt  as  Pat  Temple's 
wife.  It  was  incomprehensible  that  she  had 
ever  lost  her  footing  from  that  rock,  and 
she  could  not  quite  remember  how  or  when  it 
had  occurred.  Somehow,  the  little  pink  idol 
was  mysteriously  connected  with  the  event. 
It  occurred  to  her  now  to  calm  her  troubled 
musings  by  a  sight  of  it.  Gazing  into  its 
deep-pink  fire-lit  heart,  her  agitation  passed ; 
at  last  she  rose  and  began  to  take  off  her 
gown.  But  in  the  middle  of  undressing,  her 
movements  and  her  glance  became  fixed.    On 


68     Fink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

a  small  writing-table  at  the  foot  of  her  bed 
something  was  glittering  with  the  emerald 
eyes  of  a  hundred  serpents.  For  a  moment 
she  stood  rigid,  then  flew  to  it,  as  a  foolish 
bird  flies  to  the  snare.  All  the  stars  in 
heaven  seemed  to  have  come  down  to  lie 
there  linked  together  by  a  silvery  thread. 

It  was  a  chain  of  diamonds,  flexible  and 
long  as  her  chain  of  pearls  and  of  a  loveli- 
ness and  brilliancy  indescribable.  Tenderly, 
adoringly,  she  gathered  it  up.  It  ran  like 
fire  and  water  through  her  fingers,  flashing, 
laughing,  winking.  When  she  held  it  al- 
together in  her  two  palms,  it  was  as  though 
the  sun  had  set  in  a  pool  of  crystal  dew. 
When  it  slipped  down  over  her  red-brown 
hair  to  her  throat  and  shoulders  and  the 
shadow  of  her  bosom,  her  beauty  seemed  en- 
hanced to  unearthliness.  She  gave  a  long 
sigh,  and  something  went  fluttering  out  of 
her.  It  might  have  been  the  little  pale-faced 
conscience.     Perhaps  it  was  her  soul  taking 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     69 

wing.  Whatever  it  was,  she  neither  recked 
nor  reasoned.  The  work  begun  by  the  rose- 
red  idol  had  been  accomplished  by  the  chain 
of  stars.    She  was  losL 


Part  Two 


PART  TWO 

The  sea  hath  its  pearls, 

But  none  more  rare 
Than  the  soul  of  a  woman 

Sweet  and   fair. 

1  FOUND  that  in  a  book,  darling  mine, 
and  it  made  me  think  of  you.  All  pearls 
make  me  think  of  you,  with  their  lovely 
inner  light  shining  and  glowing  through  the 
faint  pink  bodies  of  them. 

It  is  your  birthday  to-day,  and  I  cannot  be 
with  you  or  get  you  anything  here  that  you 
would  care  for.  So  I  am  sending  you  a 
fifty-pound  note.  Buy  yourself  a  pearl.  Or 
anything  you  like.  There  should  be  some 
good  jewellers  in  Kimberley.  And  send  me 
a  pound  of  Hankey's,  like  an  angel.  Can't 
get  any  here,  and  haven't  had  a  decent  smoke 

for  a  week 

73 


74     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Thus  Pat  Temple,  writing  to  his  wife 
from  some  far  spot  on  the  borders  of  the 
Congo.  She  lay  reading  the  letter  among 
her  pillows,  and  drinking  her  morning  tea. 
Quotations  and  tag-ends  of  verses  were  not 
unusual  in  Pat's  letters.  He  may  not  have 
been  what  is  called  a  deeply  read  man.  His 
favourite  books  were  The  Tower  of  London, 
Marcus  Aurelius,  Buff  on,  Pickwick  Papers, 
Grimm's  Fairy  Tales,  and  The  Cloister  and 
the  Hearth,  Life  kept  him  too  busy  to  make 
many  new  friends  in  the  book  line,  but  his 
mind  had  a  way  of  seizing  on  to  phrases  and 
verses,  and  he  never  forgot  anything  he  had 
once  read  that  dealt  with  woman's  purity  or 
men's  chivalry.  Not  that  he  quoted  to  the 
world.  It  was  only  in  letters  to  his  wife 
that  these  things  sometimes  slipped  out  from 
the  deeps  of  his  heart  and  mingled  them- 
selves with  demands  for  his  favourite  brands 
of  tobacco. 

But  his  little  verse  this  morning  did  not 
please  Loree.     A  frown  curled  her  brows. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons      75 

She  knew  she  was  not  like  a  pearl.  Neither 
did  she  want  one.  She  was  sick  of  pearls. 
They  said  nothing  to  her.  Only  the  radiant 
fire  of  diamonds  could  charm  her  heart  and 
ravish  her  imagination.  She  drew  her  treas- 
ures from  beneath  the  pillow  and  kissed 
them.  For  two  days  and  three  nights  she 
had  owned  them  now,  worn  them  hidden 
under  her  gowns,  felt  their  soft  scrape  and 
rustle  of  them  against  her  skin,  drowned  her 
senses  in  the  secret  joy  of  their  possession. 
She  was  like  a  creature  living  under  a  spell 
that  grew  more  and  more  potent  every  hour. 
The  doors  of  her  heart  were  closed  against 
every  other  feeling  and  emotion.  Her  mind 
refused  to  remember  anything  she  did  not 
want  to  remember,  and  her  conscience  gave 
her  no  further  trouble.  It  was  either  dead 
or  fled. 

She  never  asked  herself  where  the  dia- 
monds had  come  from.  It  was  the  last  thing 
siie  wished  to  know.  Enough  that  they  were 
kers  by  nine  points  of  the  law,  and  that  no 


76     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

living  soul  had  given  sign  or  signal  of  know- 
ing of  their  existence.  The  only  fear  she 
felt  was  that  some  one  might  steal  them 
from  her,  ravish  them  from  her  grasp  as  sud- 
denly and  mysteriously  as  they  had  come. 
The  peril  of  Quelch  and  his  burning  glances 
paled  before  that  awful  prospect.  Besides, 
she  had  regained  confidence  in  her  power  to 
keep  him  in  hand.  Having  so  far  contrived 
to  avoid  being  alone  with  him  since  the  night 
of  the  theatre,  she  meant  to  continue  to  do 
so. 

The  morning  after  she  had  found  the  neck- 
lace, she  feigned  illness  and  stayed  in  bed  all 
day.  Before  one  o'clock,  Quelch  had  heard 
of  her  indisposition  and  roses  began  to  ar- 
rive. The  room  was  almost  filled  with  them 
— bales  of  colour,  dew,  and  perfume.  Mrs 
Cork,  who  walked  in  on  the, heels  of  a  maid 
with  a  tray,  said  that  they  scented  the  whok 
hotel  and  made  it  smell  like  the  rose  gardcM 
of  Persia. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons      77 

Morning  a  thousand   roses  brings,  you  sayf 
Yes;  but  where  blows  the  rose  of  yesterday^ 

she  misquoted  drily,  standing  by  the  bed- 
side. Loree  mentally  and  uncharitably  ap>- 
plied  the  last  phrase  to  her  visitor,  though  in 
her  own  roselike  beauty,  as  yet  untouched  by 
time,  she  could  have  afforded  to  be  generous. 
But  she  was  cross  with  Mrs  Cork,  and 
wanted  her  to  go  away.  She  knew  of  more 
alluring  occupations  than  listening  to  that 
lady's  arid  remarks.  But  Valeria  had  after 
all  something  interesting  to  propound. 

**You  know  the  Duke  of  Carrington  is  out 
here,  don't  you,  with  the  Duchess  and  their 
daughter  Princess  Evelyn?" 

"Yes.  They're  up  in  Rhodesia  now.  My 
husband  met  them  at  a  reception  in  Bulu- 
wayo." 

"Well,  they're  passing  through  Kimberley 
in  three  days'  time,  and  as  they  are  anxious 
to  see  the  diamonds  and  the  diamond  mag- 
nates and  their  wives  are  anxious  to  see  tkem^ 


78     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

a  ball  is  to  be  given  in  the  Royal  honour. 
So  every  one  will  be  pleased,  let  us  hope." 

"But  how  exciting!"  cried  Loree  ignoring 
the  irony  that  tinged  all  Mrs  Cork's  remarks. 
"When  is  it  to  be,  and  where*?" 

"In  three  nights'  time,  here  at  the  Bel- 
grove.  The  Club  will  be  too  small  to  hold 
the  crush.  The  invitations  are  being  rushed 
out,  as  of  course  it's  rather  sudden  and  im- 
promptu. I  can  get  you  one  if  you  care  to 
come." 

"I'd  simply  love  it.  I've  always  wanted 
to  see  Princess  Evelyn.  They  say  she's  per- 
fectly lovely." 

"All  right.    I'll  arrange  about  it  then." 

A  short  silence  ensued.  Loree's  mind  was 
busily  engaged  in  turning  over  her  evening 
gowns,  putting  them  on  and  discarding  them 
one  after  the  other,  all  except  one  she  had 
never  yet  worn — delicious  thing,  pale  and 
sweet  as  primroses  growing  in  a  field  that 
the  Lord  had  blessed.  She  gave  a  sigh  of 
pleasure  at  the  thought  of  wearing  it.    Va- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     79 

leria  in  the  meantime  gazed  wearily  around 
the  room  as  though  she  hated  everything  in 
it,  and  in  the  world.  Suddenly  her  gaze  fell 
upon  Pat  Temple's  photograph. 

"Ah!  So  that's  the  husband!"  said  she, 
and  took  it  up  to  scrutinise  closely.  "One 
of  those  big,  sanguine  men,  bom  under  Jupi- 
ter." 

"What  does  that  imply*?"  asked  Loree. 

"Luck  in  most  things,  especially  in  his 
own  disposition." 

"Yes;  Pat  has  a  lovely  disposition," 
agreed  his  wife  carelessly.  "He  is  so  awfully 
good-tempered.  I  have  never  known  him 
cross  with  any  one." 

"They're  the  worst  when  roused,"  com- 
mented Mrs  Cork. 

Loree  was  already  bored  with  the  sul> 
ject.  She  put  up  a  hand  and  passed  it  deli% 
cately  over  her  eyes,  sighing  as  if  in  pain. 
Valeria  Cork  recognised  a  hint  when  it  was 
handed  to  her — even  on  a  silver  salver.  The 
moment  she  had  gone,  Loree  hopped  out  of 


80     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

bed  and  locked  the  door.  Then  she  closed 
the  balcony  shutters  and  set  both  electric 
fans  going. 

It  was  one  of  those  torrid  days  when 
clothes  seem  an  outrage.  She  did  not  feel 
inclined  to  dress.  Instead,  she  took  from  a 
trunk  a  roll  of  filmy  powder-blue  ninon 
bought  for  making  blouses.  In  the  dim  room 
filled  with  fragrance  and  the  rustling  breezes 
of  the  fans,  she  swathed  herself  as  with 
some  soft  blue  mist,  and  her  body  glimmered 
through  it  like  a  living  statue.  Delicious 
hours  she  spent  then,  alone  with  her  roses 
and  diamonds,  and  the  reflection  of  herself  in 
the  mirror,  silent  and  lovely,  less  like  a 
woman  than  some  figure  from  the  Elgin  mar- 
bles come  to  life.  But  when  the  maid 
brought  dinner,  she  was  back  in  bed,  white 
and  languid  and  very  still  beneath  her  quilt. 

The  second  day,  she  had  ventured  down- 
stairs, but  only  for  lunch,  and  leaning  upon 
the  arm  of  Mrs  Cork,  whom  she  had  first 
gone  to  seek.     Quelch  was  kept  at  bay  by 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     81 

her  frail  air  of  languor.  His  eyes  consumed 
her,  but  she  would  not  meet  them,  and  to 
his  urgent  declaration  that  a  drive  in  the  cool 
of  the  day  would  do  her  good  and  blow  all 
her  ills  away,  she  only  smiled  mournfully 
and  kept  tight  hold  of  Mrs  Cork's  arm.  She 
did  not  intend  to  have  her  ills  blown  away. 

And  now,  on  the  third  morning,  with  a 
frown  between  her  brows,  she  pondered  the 
continuation  of  her  programme.  It  was  cer- 
tain that  she  could  not  be  indisposed  for  ever 
and  stay  shut  up  in  her  room.  For  one  thing, 
she  was  a  healthy  creature,  and  liked  air  and 
light  and  sunshine.  But  the  fear  of  Quelch 
and  the  fires  she  knew  she  had  set  blazing  in 
him  worried  her.  Why  could  he  not  behave 
himself,  she  thought  resentfully.  Life 
would  be  so  pleasant  and  delicious  but  for 
him.  She  no  longer  required  the  thrill  of 
his  passionate  admiration.  The  diamonds 
gave  her  thrill  enough. 

Valeria  Cork,  too,  she  felt,  could  not  al- 
ways be  relied  upon  to  stand  by,  lending  the 


82     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

**  protection  of  her  presence.  That  lady  had  in- 
terests and  affairs  of  her  own,  and  sometimes 
there  was  that  in  her  manner  which  signified, 
very  politely,  that  she  did  not  care  to  be 
made  use  of.  She  was  a  card-woman,  too, 
and  would  sit  for  hours  playing  with  per- 
manent guests  at  the  hotel.  Loree  did  not 
care  for  cards,  and  she  could  find  no  refuge 
in  bridge.  However  she  cared  very  much 
for  dancing  and  was  looking  forward  with 
immense  pleasure  to  the  ball  that  evening. 
She  and  Valeria  were  going  together,  and  the 
latter  had  been  so  far  accommodating  as  to 
promise  to  introduce  plenty  of  dancing  part- 
ners. In  this  way  Loree  hoped  to  evade  the 
too  close  society  of  Quelch.  In  the  meantime 
it  was  rather  tiresome  that  the  only  place  of 
real  security  seemed  to  be  her  own  room. 
Because  of  this  she  lingered  there  all  morn- 
ing and  had  her  lunch  brought  up.  But  it 
was  a  lovely  day,  and  she  longed  for  a  walk. 
Rain  in  the  night  had  cooled  the  air,  and  it 
was  a  shame  to  remain  indoors.     At  about 


Pinh  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     83 

four  o'clock,  therefore,  she  ventured  down. 
There  was  no  one  about  except  two  stout 
ladies  with  dominant  noses  playing  picquet. 
So  she  had  tea  in  the  drawing-room,  and 
looked  at  the  papers,  and  set  out  in  search  of 
a  tobacconist's. 

The  main  street  was  a  good  way  off,  but 
she  reached  it  at  last  and  bought  and  dis- 
patched Pat's  tobacco.  Then  she  looked  into 
the  window  of  the  shop  next  door,  a  fasci- 
nating window  full  of  old  silver,  unusual 
jewellery,  and  snuff-boxes.  Now,  she  col- 
lected little  boxes  and  there  was  one  that 
particularly  caught  her  fancy — a  lovely  little 
Louis  Seize  in  pale  blue  enamel  with  Cupids 
and  forget-me-nots  festooning  the  tender 
legend : 

Pour  toute   ma   vie 
Taime  ma  mie. 

She  determined  to  buy  it  for  herself  as  a 
birthday  present,  though  the  price  would  not 
make  much  of  a  hole  in  Pat's  fifty-pound 
note.    In  fact,  it  was  marked  at  such  a  low 


84     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

figure  that  its  genuineness  seemed  doubtful. 
But  a  suave  person  in  the  dim  and  dingy 
interior  reassured  her. 

"These  are  all  pledged  goods,  madame^  so 
we  can  afford  to  sell  them  cheaply." 

"Pledged?    What  is  that?' 

"Well — pawned,  madame" 

"Do  you  mean  that  this  is  a  pawnshop*?" 

"Yes,  madame.  We  advance  money  on 
jewellery  and  valuables  of  all  kinds."  With 
an  eloquent  hand  he  indicated  a  door  marked 
"Private"  in  the  shadow  at  the  back  of  the 
shop.  "Transactions  are  conducted  with  pri- 
vacy and  dispatch." 

Loree  was  horrified,  pawnshops  being 
vaguely  connected  in  her  mind  with  crime 
and  police-court  notices  in  the  Sunday  pa- 
pers. She  had  sat  down  before  the  counter, 
but  she  now  rose  hurriedly. 

"I  don't  think  I  will  bother  about  the  box 
to-day." 

As  she  gathered  up  her  gloves  and  sun- 
shade, the  door  marked  "Private"  opened. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     85 

and  Valeria  Cork  emerged.  She  was  so  bus- 
ily occupied  stuffing  a  bundle  of  banknotes 
into  her  bag  that  she  walked  past  and  left 
the  shop  without  observing  Loree.  The  lat- 
ter, flushed  and  embarrassed  by  what  seemed 
to  her  a  dreadful  contretemps^  lingered  in  the 
shop,  buying  the  snuff  box  as  a  means  of  de- 
laying herself  from  catching  up  with  Mrs 
Cork  in  the  street. 

Of  course  it  was  no  affair  of  hers,  but  she 
could  not  help  wondering  what  business  had 
been  transacted  behind  the  "Private"  door 
that  had  resulted  in  Valeria  Cork's  acquiring 
a  bundle  of  bank-notes.  Was  she  dreadfully 
in  need  of  money  and  obliged  to  pawn  some- 
thing*? Perhaps  she  could  not  even  pay  her 
hotel-bill !  These  were  awful  ideas  to  Loree, 
who  had  never  known  need  of  money  in  her 
life.  She  felt  sorry  as  well  as  curious,  for 
she  liked  Valeria  Cork  in  spite  of  her  dry 
tongue  and  uncertain  temper.  Besides, 
Lx)ree  Temple,  when  uncorrupted  by  dia- 
monds, was  of  an  exceedingly  kind  and  gen- 


86     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

erous  disposition,  with  an  instinct  always  to 
help  people  in  trouble.  For  a  time  now  she 
even  forgot  the  diamonds,  so  absorbed  was 
she  by  the  thought  of  Mrs  Cork's  embarrass- 
ments. But  only  for  a  time.  The  ball  was 
to  take  place  that  night,  and  planning  her 
toilette  required  undivided  attention.  Early 
in  the  day  she  had  put  everything  ready. 
The  gown  she  was  to  wear  lay  like  a  drift 
of  primroses  over  a  chair,  the  electric  fan 
fluttering  it  softly,  and  driving  away  every 
tiny  crease  acquired  in  travel.  Long  yellow 
silk  stockings  and  little  yellow  satin  slippers 
with  sparkling  buckles  lay  on  another  chair, 
and  on  the  bed  all  sorts  of  soft  and  slight 
and  slinky  garments  to  go  on  underneath. 
She  sat  down  and  commenced  to  do  her  hair. 
That  took  an  hour  or  so,  for  like  all  hair  it 
was  obstinate  and  behaved  badly  when  it 
was  wanted  to  look  its  best.  She  almost 
wished  she  had  gone  to  a  hairdresser.  After 
pulling  it  down  at  least  forty  times  and  at 
last  getting  very  nervous,  she  vowed  that  the 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     87 

forty-first  time  would  have  to  do.  It  was 
the  kind  of  hair  that  did  not  really  need  do- 
ing at  all,  being  perfectly  charming  when 
just  pushed  up  carelessly  into  little  clusters 
of  spraying  waves  and  curls.  She  stuck  her 
usual  red  rose  into  it  from  a  great  bunch  that 
had  been  delivered  that  afternoon  with  the 
compliments  of  Heseltine  Quelch.  It  was 
dinner-time  long  before  she  had  finished  so 
she  rang  for  something  on  a  tray  and  ate  it 
sitting  at  her  dressing-table  studying  herself 
in  the  mirror.  In  her  vain  little  heart  she 
decided  that  it  was  the  better  plan  not  to  go 
downstairs  where  numbers  of  people  were 
giving  smart  dinner  parties.  She  did  not 
want  to  be  examined  by  scores  of  eyes  be- 
fore the  hour  when  they  would  all  file  past 
Royalty.  She  wanted  to  dawn  in  all  her 
glory  upon  the  ball.  To  step  like  a  fairy 
princess  into  the  centre  of  the  stage.  Se- 
cretly she  had  an  idea  of  outrivalling  the 
renowned  beauty  of  Princess  Evelyn.  How- 
ever she  was  not  very  sure  of  herself  in  this 


88     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

ambition,  being  aware  that  Royalty  has  an 
air  of  its  own,  and  that  when  said  air  is 
allied  to  beauty  it  becomes  almost  irresist- 
ible. Also,  the  Princess  was  older  than  she, 
had  acquired  the  sophistication  of  Courts, 
and  travelled  in  many  lands.  These  things 
count,  and  Loree  knew  it.  Still,  she  was  not 
too  discontented  with  the  results  of  her  sub- 
tle toiling  and  weaving  when  she  stood  at 
last  ready  to  go  downstairs.  The  only  fault 
she  could  find  was  that  she  looked  loo  inno- 
cent. That,  she  felt  sure  was  a  grave  defect 
in  a  woman  of  the  world.  Be  innocent,  yes, 
thought  Loraine  Loree,  but  don't  look  it,  or 
people  will  think  you  are  just  out  of  the 
schoolroom.  An  abominable  thing  for  a 
married  woman  of  one  year  to  have  thought 
about  her. 

She  wondered  what  on  earth  she  could  do 
to  give  herself  the  right  note  of  sophistica- 
tion and  awareness  that  there  was  wicked- 
ness in  the  world?  She  was  wearing  Pat's 
pearls;  on  her  fingers,  in  her  ears,  round  her 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     89 

throat:  and  they  made  her  look  more  inno- 
cent than  ever.  For  once  she  had  locked  the 
diamond  necklace,  precious  and  adored,  up 
in  her  jewel  box,  for  worn  with  a  gown  like 
this  it  could  not  possibly  have  been  con- 
cealed. But  suddenly  a  mad  and  daring  idea 
darted  into  her  mind.  Suppose  she  should 
wear  it*?  Would  anything  in  the  world  give 
such  a  nolef  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the 
pearls  were  off  and  replaced  by  the  chain  of 
glimmering  gems.    Just  to  see ! 

Yes.  They  gave  the  note.  She  looked 
like  an  angel  who  had  been  down  to  hell  on 
an  errand,  and  got  back  safely.  For  it  was 
on  an  errand  only,  be  it  understood.  She 
had  not  lingered  to  talk  to  the  Devil.  Only 
given  a  glance  beyond  the  bars  to  see  what 
was  going  on  there  among  the  bright  flames. 
Then  fled.  But  the  adventure  had  left  its 
mark.  Or  so  the  diamonds  seemed  to  relate 
in  their  brilliant  language  and  the  haunting 
echoes  they  gave  to  the  eyes. 

But  dared  she  do  this  thing?    Dared  she 


90     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

go  down  into  the  crowd  wearing  the  marvel- 
lous chain  of  stones  that  had  come  so  mys- 
teriously into  her  possession  *?  She  dallied 
long  with  the  temptation,  turning  over  die 
pros  and  cons  in  her  mind.  And  after  all 
what  were  the  cons?  Whoever  it  was  that 
had  been  so  kind  and  delightful  as  to  pre- 
sent her  with  this  jewel  had  surely  meant  her 
to  wear  it?  Not  keep  it  forever  hidden*? 
She  did  not  linger  too  long  over  that  phase 
of  the  story,  however,  because  she  did  not 
wish  to  think  too  intently  of  the  giver.  Cer- 
tainly she  had  no  idea  who  it  was,  but  she 
liked  to  think  vaguely  that  the  gods  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  Not  any  mere 
human  being.  The  rose-pink  idol  rustling  in 
its  silken  nest  was  a  different  thing  alto- 
gether. Unfortunately  she  knew  that  be- 
longed to  De  Beers,  and  she  dared  not  openly 
wear  it.     But  surely  this  chain  .  .  .   ? 

Well !  if  you  dally  with  temptation  long 
enough,  temptation  always  wins,  especially 
when  aided  and  abetted  by  a  thousand  little 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     91 

lovely,  glittering,  dancing,  scintillating  spir- 
its of  light  and  colour. 

Needless  to  say  Loree  went  downstairs 
with  the  chain  round  her  neck:  and  though 
her  heart  was  trembling  with  its  own  audac- 
ity she  walked  like  a  queen. 

It  was  nearly  nine  o^clock,  the  hour  set 
for  the  reception  to  begin.  The  lounge  was 
crowded  and  carriages  were  every  moment 
setting  down  fresh  parties  of  people  at  the 
door.  All  the  wealth  of  Ind  as  well  as  Afric 
seemed  to  be  arriving.  The  place  absolutely 
glittered  with  jewels.  Even  at  that  Loraine 
Loree  created  something  of  a  sensation  as  she 
came  down  the  broad  stairway.  At  first  men 
thought  she  was  some  lissom  sprite  of  spring 
arriving,  decorated  with  the  dewdrops  of 
dawn.  Then  it  was  seen  as  she  came 
among  them  that  they  had  made  a  mistake. 
This  was  a  beautiful  woman  of  the  world, 
wearing  a  Paris  gown  and  diamonds  so 
sumptuous  that  they  put  every  one  else's  into 
the  shade. 


92     Fink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Valeria  Cork  was  one  of  the  few  people 
who  appeared  undisturbed  by  the  glory  of 
Mrs  Temple,  though  she,  like  every  one  else, 
saw  the  vision  and  made  a  signal  to  it,  to 
indicate  her  whereabouts :  and  Loree,  a  little 
nervous  in  all  that  crowd  of  staring  strangers, 
yet  moving  proudly,  with  elation  in  her 
veins  found  her  way  to  her  friend's  side. 
Valeria  introduced  two  men  with  whom  she 
was  talking.  Loree  was  much  relieved  to 
see  no  sign  of  Quelch.  One  of  the  first  things 
^e  noticed  was  that  Mrs  Cork  had  not  got 
on  her  Brazilian  diamond.  This  might  be 
accidental  of  course,  but  it  was  strange  upon 
an  occasion  when  every  one  else  was  be- 
decked. Valeria  on  her  part  gave  only  a 
passing  glance  at  Loree's  diamonds. 

"How  beautiful  your  jewels  are!"  she  said 
carelessly,  "and  your  gown  too.  You  are 
creating  quite  a  stir."  Then  she  went  on 
talking  to  one  of  the  men,  leaving  the  other 
to  entertain  Loree,  which  he  certainly  did, 
being   a  young   South   African   who  knew 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     93 

everybody  and  reverenced  nobody  ...  es- 
pecially Kimberley  Nobodies.  He  himself 
was  Kimberley  born,  but  Harrow  and  Cam- 
bridge had  bred  in  him  a  fine  intolerance  for 
the  men  who  were  merely  millionaires.  As 
for  the  millionaires'  wives 

"Isn't  it  amazing,"  he  said  looking  at 
Loree  with  frankly  admiring  eyes,  "that  one 
hardly  ever  sees  the  right  women  with  jew- 
els*? Why  should  a  little  blue-faced  monkey 
of  a  woman  go  about  with  a  thousand  pounds 
glittering  in  each  ear  and  a  few  more  thou- 
sand pounds'  worth  drawing  attention  to  her 
accordion-pleated  throat*?  I  tell  you  it 
makes  me  lose  my  reverence  for  age." 

Loree  doubted  whether  he  had  ever  pos- 
sessed any,  but  she  laughed,  because  she  was 
young  and  so  was  he ;  in  fact  he  was  still  at 
Cambridge  undergrad,  being  only  out  on  a 
visit  to  his  people  during  the  long  Vac. 

"As  for  a  fat  woman  wearing  dia- 
monds  "  continued  this  hopeful  youth, 


94     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 


"I'd  rather  see  a  beautiful  medallion  stuck 
in  a  porker's  back." 

These  wise  and  witty  reflections  were  in- 
terrupted by  a  stir  in  the  crowd  and  a  gen- 
eral movement  in  the  direction  of  the  two 
great  doors  which  were  now  flung  open.  The 
Royal  party  had  arrived  by  a  private  way 
and  taken  up  their  position  in  the  ball-room. 
The  file  through,  to  be  announced  and  pre- 
sented, now  began,  and  Loree  and  Mrs  Cork 
detached  themselves  from  their  friends  with 
a  promise  to  meet  them  later  when  the  danc- 
ing commenced. 

A  rather  magnificent  arrangement  of  scar- 
let and  gold — half  platform,  half  dais — ^had 
been  set  up  at  one  end  of  the  ball-room.  But 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  were  standing  well 
away  from  it  and  chatting  and  shaking  hands 
with  their  guests  and  behaving  exactly  like 
ordinary  mortals.  They  did  not  interest 
Loree  very  much — just  an  elderly  well-bred 
looking  English  gentleman  and  his  pleasant- 
faced  wife — but  she  looked  eagerly  as  she 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     95 

drew  near,  at  the  Princess  Evelyn.  Yes,  she 
was  certainly  lovely.  A  fine  clear  English 
skin  and  delicately  curved  patrician  features. 
She  wore  a  wonderful  gown  of  faint  mauve 
draperies,  and  her  eyes  which  had  a  singu- 
larly pure  expression  appeared  to  be  of  the 
same  haunting  colour.  People  said  she  might 
have  been  a  queen  if  she  had  chosen,  and  that 
more  than  one  monarch  had  begged  for  her 
hand.  But  she  had  simple  ideals,  this  royal 
girl — ^simple  yet  very  high.  She  would  only 
marry  where  she  loved.  And  the  world  was 
amazed,  and  speculated  a  good  deal  as  to 
what  would  happen  if  she  fell  in  love  with  a 
mere  commoner.  In  the  meantime  there 
seemed  to  be  a  little  sadness  in  the  sweet 
mauve  eyes.  Loree  Temple  thought  so  at 
least  as  she  made  her  curtsey  and  passed  on. 
There  was  still  no  sign  of  Quelch,  and 
Loree  felt  alternately  relieved  and  elated  by 
the  fact.  She  knew  she  was  looking  her 
best  and  it  seemed  a  pity  he  should  miss  a 
sight  that  would  give  him  so  much  pleasure. 


96     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

On  the  other  hand  it  was  undeniably  safer, 
not  to  say  cooler,  without  him  hovering  like 
a  hawk  over  her  every  movement.  Mrs  Cork 
had  introduced  several  pleasant  people  and 
she  did  not  find  time  hanging  on  her  hands  at 
all.  Only  one  thing  worried  her  a  little.  A 
very  striking-looking  woman  was  paying  her 
a  good  deal  of  attention  and  seemed  to  be 
constantly  striving  to  approach  her.  As  the 
room  was  crowded  this  was  rather  difficult, 
and  Loree  made  it  even  more  so  for  she  had 
a  feminine  reason  for  not  wishing  the  lady  to 
approach  too  closely. 

The  latter  was  a  large  woman,  very  hand- 
some, with  bold  bright  eyes,  and  a  genial  and 
courageous  look  to  her,  that  was  attractive. 
With  such  a  face  she  might  have  been  a 
Jezebel,  or  a  Roman  matron  above  suspicion. 
There  perhaps  was  a  little  of  both  in  her 
composition.  Her  gown  of  cloth  of  gold 
shone  like  a  blaze  of  daffodils.  Diamonds 
shone  all  over  her  too;  in  the  buckles  of  her 
shoes,  on  her  large  able  hands,  on  her  plump 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     97 

but  not  shapeless  arms.  Youth  had  gone, 
and  fat  had  come,  but  beauty  had  not  en- 
tirely deserted  her.  She  had  one  of  those 
corset  ted  figures  that  make  men  wonder  at 
the  endurance  of  women,  but  her  sufferings 
did  not  dim  the  brilliance  of  her  smile  nor 
the  resonance  of  her  hearty  laughter  which 
occasionally  rang  through  the  room.  She 
was  evidently  a  personality.  She  smiled  at 
every  one  and  every  one  smiled  back  and 
seemed  to  know  her.  It  was  only  at  Mrs 
Temple  that  she  stared  continually  without 
smiling,  seeming  determined  to  edge  nearer. 
But  Mrs  Temple  was  just  as  determined  that 
she  should  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  the  reasmi 
being  that  beside  that  gown  of  blazing  yel- 
low Loree  knew  her  own  delicate  primrose 
gown  would  be  absolutely  killed.  Naturally 
she  did  not  care  to  have  her  lustre  dimmed 
and  her  subtle  draperies  made  to  look  like 
faded  nothings  by  the  neighbourhood  of  this 
bird  of  brilliant  plumage.     Therefore  very 


^8     Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

gently  but  cleverly  she  kept  slipping  a  little 
further  away. 

"Who  is  that  lady  in  bright  yellow?" 
she  asked  the  Kimberley  boy  who  was  once 
at  her  side  begging  for  a  dance.  The  Royal 
party  was  leaving  and  dancing  would  very 
shortly  begin. 

"Oh,  you  mean  the  famous  Mrs  Solano." 

"Is  she  famous?    What  has  she  done?" 

"Ah!  what  hasn't  she  done?"  said  young 

Dalkeith  smiling.     "There  are  many  strange 

tales  about  her.     Would  you  like  to  meet 

her?" 

"No,  indeed,"  answered  Loree.  "I  don't 
want  her  to  come  near  me.  Her  gown  sim- 
ply kills  mine." 

Just  then  she  looked  up  to  discover  that 
the  lady  in  question  having  made  a  detour 
was  close  upon  her.  Only  a  few  people  in- 
tervened. The  two  women's  eyes  met  and 
there  was  such  searching  astonishment  in 
those  bold  black  orbs,  and  such  determina- 
tion, that  Loree  became  suddenly  frightened. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons     99 

It  occurred  to  her  with  a  sudden  shock  that 
the  look  had  something  to  do  with  her  chain 
of  diamonds.  The  thought  sent  a  thrill 
of  alarm  through  her.  Her  treasure  was  in 
danger ! 

"Please  take  me  out  to  some  cool  dark 
place,"  she  said  quickly  to  her  companion. 
"I  want  air." 

Nothing  could  please  young  Dalkeith  bet- 
ter. He  thought  her  the  prettiest  woman  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  was  only  too  delighted  to 
lose  himself  with  her  in  the  deepest  depths 
of  the  faintly-lit  conservatory.  But  to  his 
disappointment  she  wished  to  continue  talk- 
ing about  Mrs  Solano. 

"Do  tell  me  about  her.  Why  do  you  say 
she  is  famous?" 

"Well,  when  I  say  famous,  I  mean  she  is 
a  sort  of  historical  character  in  these  parts. 
Her  husband  was  one  of  the  great  diamond 
kings  here  in  the  old  days  and  she  was  very 
much  queen,  I  can  tell  3^ou.  They  say  she  was 
extremely  beautiful." 


100  Pinh  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

''She  is  still,"  said  Loree  slowly,  "in  a 
way." 

"Oh  no,  quite  passee"  said  he,  with  the 
calm  and  cruelty  of  youth.  "Everything's 
in  the  past  tense  with  her,  poor  old  thing. 
Over  and  done  with  before  you  were  born  I 
expect.  But  she  had  a  good  run  for  her 
money,  and  so  did  old  Micky  Solano." 

"Isn't  he  a  diamond  king  still  ^" 

"Well,  I  believe  he  thinks  he  is,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  he's  in  a  lunatic  asylum  some- 
where down  in  the  Colony.  He  lost  nearly 
all  his  money  in  speculations,  and  it  sent 
him  off  his  head." 

"How  sad!  and  how  strange  that  she 
should  still  go  out!" 

"Oh,  it  was  all  a  long  time  ago  and  she's 
had  an  exciting  life  and  can't  let  go.  Did 
you  notice  that  big  golden  diamond  on  her 
forehead?" 

"Yes,  I  did,"  said  Loree.  "And  I  don't 
think  she  can  be  very  poor  for  she  is  covered 
with  diamonds." 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Ifembhh'' 101 

"Well,  comparatively  poor,  you  know. 
They  used  to  eat  off  gold  plates  and  build 
palaces  wherever  they  went,  that  sort  of 
thing.  Now  she  lives  in  a  small  house  with 
a  couple  of  servants,  and  I  believe  all  her 
most  important  jewels  have  been  sold  one  by 
one  to  pay  the  bills  at  Micky's  asylum.  For 
he  still  lives  sumptuously.  She's  sport 
enough  for  that." 

"I  could  tell  she  had  big  qualities,"  said 
Loree.  "I  felt  she  could  either  be  a  great 
saint  or  a  great  sinner." 

"Well,  I  should  say  sport  rather  than 
saint,"  laughed  the  boy.  "She  certainly  was 
a  bit  of  a  sinner  from  all  accounts — not  mor- 
ally, you  know,  but  against  the  law." 

"I  don't  understand " 

"The  Diamond  Law,  I  mean.  In  the  days 
when  old  Micky  Solano  made  his  money  dia- 
monds could  be  found  lying  about  the  streets 
here  in  Kimberley,  or  bought  at  every  street 
corner  from  the  niggers  who  stole  them." 

"But  how  could  the  niggers  steal  them^' 


102-  Tink  'Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"Well,  you  see,  nowadays,  De  Beers  have 
the  system  of  watching  and  searching 
brought  to  a  fine  art;  boys  who  are  working 
in  the  mines  are  absolutely  isolated  from  the 
rest  of  the  world  in  Compounds  for  six 
months  or  so  at  a  time;  at  the  end  of  their 
contracts  and  before  leaving  they  are  watched 
day  and  night  and  gone  over  internally  as 
well  as  externally,  so  that  they  haven't  a 
hope  of  getting  away  with  anything  as  big  as 
a  pin's  head.  But  in  those  early  days  there 
were  no  Compounds.  They  worked  out  in 
the  open  with  nothing  round  them  but  wire 
fences,  and  opportunities  for  stealing  were 
endless.  There  were  watching  overseers,  but 
John  nigger  is  a  wily  fellow  and  soon  dis- 
covered means  of  hiding  some  of  his  finds. 
At  the  end  of  a  day's  work  among  the  blue 
ground  he  would  hand  over  a  dozen  dia- 
monds and  probably  have  three  or  four  fine 
ones  concealed  upon  his  person.  The  next 
step  was  to  get  into  touch  with  illicit-dia- 
mond buyers  who  would  give  him  perhaps 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   103 

two  pounds  for  a  stone  worth  a  hundred. 
This  of  course  paid  the  nigger  who  had  got 
the  stone  for  nothing,  while  the  man  who 
made  the  purchase  soon  developed  into  a  mil- 
lionaire. A  severe  law  was  made  to  com- 
bat this  traffic  but  people  still  did  it,  in  spite 
of  the  risk  of  being  sent  to  jail  for  ten  or 
twenty  years.  The  Breakwater  at  Cape  Town 
was  almost  entirely  built  by  men  sentenced 
for  I.  D.  B.  People  never  talked  of  being 
sent  to  jail,  but  to  the  Breakwater.  Never- 
theless illicit  buying  of  diamonds  continued, 
and  many  well  known  men  founded  their  for- 
tunes in  that  way.  Micky  Solano  was  one 
of  them.  Not  only  Micky.  His  wife  was 
in  it  too.  She  did  it  for  love  of  the  game, 
people  say.  Others  say  that  diamonds  had 
cast  a  glamour  over  her  soul,  and  she  couldn't 
help  herself.  Anyway  it  was  quite  well 
known  that  Micky  who  kept  a  sort  of  way- 
side hotel  got  hold  of  the  stones  by  hook  or 
by  crook,  and  she  ran  them  across  the  bor- 
der into  the  Orange  Free  State.     Once  you 


104   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

were  in  Dutch  territory  the  Diamond  Law 
could  not  touch  you,  and  from  there  you 
could  easily  smuggle  the  stones  down  to  the 
Cape  and  away  by  mail  boat  to  the  big  buy- 
ers in  Holland.  You  can  imagine  that  heaps 
of  people  were  constantly  backwards  and 
forwards  to  the  border  pretending  to  be 
travellers  and  traders.  Scores  of  them  were 
trapped  at  it  and  sent  to  the  Breakwater. 
But  Micky  and  his  wife  were  never  trapped. 
She  was  too  clever.  No  one  ever  found  the 
diamonds  she  hid  though  she  was  often' 
searched.  The  detectives  knew  that  she  got 
away  with  thousands  of  pounds'  worth  every 
month,  but  they  were  never  able  to  catch  her 
out.  Then,  one  journey  she  had  her  baby 
with  her.  It  was  the  only  child  they  ever 
had,  and  for  the  first  time  she  took  it  with 
her  on  the  rough  coach  journey.  There 
were  no  trains  then,  you  know.  People  either 
had  their  own  wagons  and  trekked  across 
the  veld,  rode  horses,  or  drove  a  four-in-hand. 
Mrs  Solano  used  all  these  modes  of  getting 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   105 

about  but  upon  this  occasion  she  was  travel- 
ling by  the  ordinary  mail  cart.  As  usual 
they  were  all  searched  by  detectives  and 
nothing  found,  but  just  after  they  got  across 
the  border  and  were  free  of  the  police  a  fel- 
low passenger  called  her  attention  to  the 
stillness  of  the  child  which  usually  was  a 
very  lively  little  thing.  The  mother  looked, 
and  found  it  dead.  It  was  black  in  the  face 
and  had  apparently  died  of  strangulation. 
Mrs  Solano  nearly  went  mad.  Some  one 
took  charge  of  her  while  the  child  was  ex- 
amined by  a  doctor  who  found  a  magnificent 
rough  diamond  stuck  in  its  throat.  It  had 
been  sucking  one  of  those  sugar  bag  arrange- 
ments that  mothers  sometimes  make  for  their 
children.  Apparently  the  stone  had  been 
placed  inside  the  sugar  bag  for  concealment 
and  I  wonder  it  never  occurred  to  the 
mother  that  the  baby  might  suck  a  hole  in 
the  bag  and  swallow  the  stone.  Pretty  awful 
Nemesis  to  descend  upon  her,  wasn't  it?" 
"Terrible!"  murmured  Loree. 


106   PinJc  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"That  was  the  last  I.D.B.  adventure  she 
undertook  anyhow.  They  were  pretty  rich 
by  then  and  she  must  just  have  been  doing 
it  for  the  love  of  the  risk.  But  she  never  did 
it  again.  Micky  invested  the  beans — and 
they  became  fabulously  rich.  But  isn't  it 
a  curious  idea  of  hers  to  wear  the  stone  that 
choked  the  baby?" 

"Wear  it?' 

"Well,  they  say  that's  the  one — the  big 
golden  stone  she  always  wears  on  her  fore- 
head. They  say  she  hates  diamonds  now  and 
wears  them  as  a  sort  of  punishment  and 
reparation,  especially  that  one.  I  don't  know 
how  much  truth  there  is  in  it.  People  say 
anything  in  Africa.  Awful  country !  Hullo ! 
there's  the  band.  Do  let's  go  in  and  have 
this  dance." 

Loree  felt  very  uneasy,  but  the  music  was 
irresistible  and  she  let  herself  be  beguiled. 
As  soon  as  she  got  back  into  the  ball-room 
she  saw  that  Quelch  had  arrived.  He  was  on 
the  other  side  of  the  room  staring  about 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   107 

ererywhere,  but  to  her  relief  he  passed  out 
of  a  door  without  having  caught  sight  of  her. 
In  a  few  seconds  she  had  forgotten  him  and 
everything  else  in  the  joyous  response  of  her 
whole  being  to  the  rhythm  of  the  music. 
Young  Dalkeith  in  common  with  most  Co- 
lonials was  an  accomplished  dancer  and  it 
was  like  being  wrenched  brutally  out  of  a 
dream  when  the  music  stopped.  They 
strolled  in  silence  to  one  of  the  doors  leading 
to  the  verandahs.  As  they  reached  the 
darkness  Loree  realised  that  she  had  run  right 
into  that  which  she  had  tried  to  avoid.  A 
resonant  and  determined  voice  was  saying: 

"It  is  mine,  I  tell  you.  I  left  it  with 
Freddy  Huffe.  I  am  quite  certain.  I  should 
know  it  anywhere." 

She  found  herself  facing  Mrs  Solano  and 
another  woman.  They  had  been  standing 
just  outside  the  door,  apparently  watching 
the  dancing.  Loree  saw  at  once  that  the 
rencontre  could  no  longer  be  avoided.     Mrs 


108   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Solano  addressed  herself  directly  to  young 
Dalkeith. 

"Will  you  introduce  me  to  this  lady, 
George,"  she  said  pleasantly.  Dalkeith, 
rather  taken  aback  and  annoyed,  could  hardly 
do  otherwise  than  her  bidding,  but  he  per- 
formed the  ceremony  without  wasting  much 
grace. 

"Mrs  Temple,  this  is  Mrs  Solano,"  he 
said,  adding  crisply — "of  whom  I  have  been 
telling  you." 

"Oh,  have  you,  George  *?"  remarked  Mrs 
Solano  with  a  good-natured  laugh.  "That's 
very  kind  of  you,  I'm  sure.  Well,  you  can 
run  away  now  and  play." 

George  walked  off,  very  cross,  and  Loree 
felt  desperately  alone  and  frightened,  for 
Mrs  Solano's  friend  remained,  and  she  felt 
somehow  that  they  were  two  to  one.  What- 
ever she  felt  within,  however,  she  managed 
to  show  no  outward  trace  of  discomposure. 
There  was  a  tinge  of  haughtiness  in  the 
glance  of  enquiry  she  levelled  at  Mrs  Solano. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    109 

"I  hope  you  won't  be  offended  with  me, 
Mrs  Temple,"  said  that  lady  courteously 
enough.  *'But  I've  been  all  the  evening  ad- 
miring the  necklace  you  are  wearing.  Would 
you  mind  telling  me  how  it  came  into  your 
possession?" 

Loree's  heart  was  ice,  but  so  in  terrified 
self-defence  was  her  manner. 

"It  is  a  little  curious  of  you  to  ask  me 
such  a  question,"  she  said  coldly.  "Perhaps 
you  will  explain " 

"Ah  I  I  see  you  are  offended,"  answered  the 
other  with  the  utmost  good  nature,  but  be- 
hind her  pleasant  manner  was  still  that 
strong  determination  Loree  had  recognised 
from  the  first.  "Really  you  mustn't  be.  It 
is  only  that  the  necklace  reminds  me  very 
much  of  one  I  once  possessed."  Suddenly 
she  darted  out  a  question:  "Was  it  a  gift?" 
Loree  stepped  away  slightly  and  got  her  back 
to  the  wall  in  body  as  well  as  in  spirit.  Peo- 
ple were  dancing  again.  The  verandah  was 
deserted  except  for  the  little  group  of  three 


110   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

and  another  woman,  approaching  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

"Most  jewels  are  gifts,"  said  Mrs  Temple 
with  the  utmost  composure,  but  wondering 
whether  she  was  going  to  die  or  only  faint. 
The  other  woman  looked  at  her  now  with 
open  hostility  in  her  eyes.  And  then,  to 
her  relief,  Loree  recognised  that  the  ap- 
proaching woman  was  Valeria  Cork.  She 
came  up  to  them  swiftly. 

"Is  anything  the  matter?"  she  asked  in 
surprise,  staring  at  the  silent  group  of  three. 
"How  do  you  do,  Mrs  Solano?" 

Perhaps  it  was  by  accident  that  she  ranged 
herself  at  Loree's  side,  facing  the  other  two 
women.  In  the  darkness  she  felt  Loree's 
hand  clutch  her  arm  as  if  in  fear,  but  Loree's 
voice  said  very  calmly : 

"This  lady  is  under  some  delusion  about 
the  necklace  I  am  wearing." 

"No,  I  am  not  under  any  delusion,"  said 
Mrs  Solano  and  her  voice,  no  longer  pleas- 
antly resonant,  clanged  like  iron.     "If  you 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    111 

will  take  off  that  necklace  I  will  prove  to 
you  that  it  is  mine." 

Loree's  breath  shortened.  Mrs  Cork 
laughed. 

"But  how  fantastic,  Mrs  Solano!  You 
must  really  realise  that  this  is  rather  a  wild 
statement  to  make." 

"It  may  sound  so,"  said  Mrs  Solano  dog- 
gedly, "but,  as  I  say,  I  am  ready  to  prove  it. 
My  necklace  has  a  blue  diamond  on  each  side 
of  the  clasp,  and  one  of  these  diamonds  has 
three  dots  or  defects  in  it,  that  held  in  a 
certain  light,  give  the  impression  of  a  tiny 
Death's  head  grinning  at  you." 

"More  fantastic  still !"  cried  Valeria  Cork 
still  laughing.  Loree  had  never  known  her 
so  hilarious.  "Does  your  necklace  possess 
this  sinister  distinction  also,  Mrs  Temple?" 

"I  have  never  noticed  it,"  was  the  stony 
answer. 

"Of  course  you  haven't."  Valeria  became 
grave.  "And  of  course  Mrs  Solano  is  mak- 
ing a  mistake " 


112   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"I  am  not  making  a  mistake.  I  am  cer- 
tain that  the  necklace  is  mine,  and  I  insist 
upon  examining  it."  Mrs  Solano  spoke 
with  the  firmness  of  a  woman  who  is  ac- 
customed to  know  what  she  means  to  do,  and 
to  do  it. 

Valeria,  speaking  very  gravely,  said: 

"I  think  you  are  acting  in  a  very  strange 
manner,  Mrs  Solano,  and  later  you  will 
probably  regret  it  very  much."  She  was 
standing  in  the  doorway,  and  she  now  turned 
her  head  and  looked  into  the  ball-room.  Im- 
mediately she  added:  "But  as  you  have 
gone  so  far,  I,  as  a  friend  of  Mrs  Temple's, 
must  insist  that  the  matter  be  put  right. 
Some  responsible  person  must  be  called  in  to 
see  the  necklace  with  you,  and  relieve  my 
poor  little  friend  of  any  further  unpleasant- 
ness. Mr  Quelch  is  just  the  man  to  do  this, 
and  I  see  him  over  there  in  the  ball-room. 
Please  all  remain  here  while  I  fetch  him." 

She  was  only  two  or  three  seconds  away, 
and  during  her  absence  the   three  women 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    113 

stood  still  as  though  turned  to  stone.  Quelch 
and  Mrs  Cork  made  their  way  across  the  ball- 
room, their  heads  bent  in  conversation.  Pres- 
ently they  emerged  through  the  door  by 
which  the  three  awaited. 

"I  have  explained  everything  to  Mr 
Quelch,"  said  Mrs  Cork  quietly.  "Mrs  Tem- 
ple, will  you  please  hand  him  the  necklace 
and  he  and  Mrs  Solano  can  go  and  look  at 
it  quietly  in  his  sitting-room." 

"This  is  all  very  mysterious,"  said  Quelch 
in  his  charming  voice.  "But  I've  no  doubt 
we  can  clear  it  up  immediately." 

Valeria  Cork  had  lifted  the  necklace 
quietly  over  Loree's  head. 

"It  will  be  perfectly  safe  with  Mr 
Quelch,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice.  A  minute 
after  she  put  her  arm  through  Loree's.  "I 
hear  the  'cup'  is  delicious  and  I  am  so 
thirsty,"  she  said.    "Let's  go  and  have  some." 

She  drew  Loree  away  in  one  direction  and 
Quelch  and  Mrs  Solano  went  in  another. 
Mrs  Solano's  friend,  who  throughout  the  pro- 


114  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

ceedings  had  never  spoken  a  word,  remained 
standing  like  a  pillar  of  salt,  in  the  veran- 
dah. 

♦         *         * 

Loree  plunged  once  more  into  the  gay  pool 
of  melody  and  movement.  With  a  little 
champagne  in  her  head,  and  her  heels  as  light 
as  air,  she  managed  to  throw  off  the  memory 
of  the  disagreeable  incident  that  had  ruffled 
the  pleasant  surface  of  the  evening  .  .  .  but 
at  the  back  of  her  mind  fright  was  lurking 
still,  and  every  now  and  then  it  would  clutch 
at  her  heart  with  an  icy  hand  that  almost 
stilled  its  beating.  Then,  shivering,  she 
would  wonder  what  was  taking  place  in 
Quelch's  sitting-room  and  why  he  and  Mrs 
Solano  did  not  reappear. 

Time  went  on.  It  had  been  somewhere 
about  half  past  midnight  when  they  went 
away,  and  at  two  o'clock  there  was  still  no 
sign  of  them.  Mrs  Temple  was  thankful  for 
the  distraction  offered  by  the  company  of  a 
delightful  man  of  about   forty-five  whom 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   115 

young  Dalkeith  had  introduced.  He  was  a 
late-comer  having  arrived  only  in  time  for 
the  ball,  and  at  once  with  unerring  instinct 
made  a  bee  line  for  the  prettiest  woman  in 
the  room.  His  tongue  had  a  witty  twist  and 
his  eye  under  a  black-ribboned  eye-glass  was 
blue  and  merry  as  a  boy's.  He  seemed  not  to 
have  a  care  in  the  world  and  kept  Loree 
so  amused  that  she  almost  forgot  all  cares  of 
her  own.  Moreover  his  step  suited  hers  to 
perfection  and  while  she  was  dancing  with 
him  she  thought  of  nothing.  Her  mind  was 
a  blank  except  for  the  delicious  feeling  of 
bliss  in  rhythmical  movement. 

She  was  resting  after  a  dance  with  this 
man  whose  name  she  did  not  know  when  one 
of  the  hotel  servants  came  up  and  addressed 
him  in  a  low  voice. 

"Mr  Quelch  would  like  to  speak  to  you. 
Sir,  in  his  private  sitting-room." 

A  shade  of  annoyance  crossed  the  face  of 
Mrs  Temple's  companion. 

"Very  well,"  he  answered  brusquely,  then 


116  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

turned  to  her,  "I  wish  people  would  not 
want  to  talk  business  out  of  business  hours  !'* 
he  remarked  with  a  tinge  of  impatience. 
"However,  I  shall  be  back  in  ten  minutes  or 
so,  Mrs  Temple.  Yov  won't  give  the  ninth 
waltz  to  any  one  else,  will  you*?  And  please 
don't  forget  that  I  am  to  have  that  'third 
extra,'  if  there  is  one.  It's  a  promise,  isn't 
itr 

"Very  well,  we'll  look  upon  it  as  a  prom- 
ise," she  smiled.  But  when  the  ninth  waltz 
started  he  had  not  returned  to  claim  it,  and 
she  did  not  know  with  whom  to  be  most 
vexed — Quelch,  or  her  missing  partner. 
Beautiful  Loree  was  not  accustomed  to  bloom 
unsought  in  the  role  of  wall-flower,  and  even 
though  she  was  soon  descried  and  besieged 
for  the  remainder  of  the  waltz  her  vanity 
was  hurt  by  the  incident.  She  put  a  small 
rod  in  pickle  for  the  defaulting  partner  when 
he  should  turn  up,  and  the  promise  of  the 
'third  extra'  was  promptly  bestowed  else- 
where.   But  the  dance  went  gaily  on  and  the 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   117 

recalcitrant  one  did  not  return  to  receive  his 
punishment.  She  thought  it  very  strange  of 
him.  Also  her  vexation  with  Heseltine 
Quelch  increased.  Surely  if  the  latter  had 
finished  his  interview  with  Mrs  Solano  he 
ought  at  least  to  come  back  to  report  and 
return  the  necklace,  instead  of  sending  for  a 
business  acquaintance  and  launching  into 
some  other  affair  .  .  .  incidentally  robbing 
her  of  the  best  dancing  partner  she  had  ever 
had !  It  really  was  too  tiresome  of  him.  She 
resolved  to  treat  him  pretty  coolly  for  his 
sins. 

But  up  to  the  last  note  of  the  last  "extra" 
there  was  no  sign  of  him,  and  unease  began, 
once  more,  to  creep  into  her  mind.  What 
had  happened*?  She  was  standing  near  the 
verandah  door  when  the  final  bar  of  God 
Save  the  King  crashed  out.  In  the  second 
of  silence  that  followed  a  sharp  report  was 
heard  from  the  garden — a  strange,  unusual 
sound  that  made  women  jump  and  men  run 
hurriedly  through  the  doors.     The  garden 


118  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

was  dimly  luminant  with  the  promise  of 
was  that  men  discovered  out  there  among 
dawn,  yet  not  light  enough  to  show  what  it 
the  roses.  One  or  two  women  devoured  by 
curiosity  began  to  push  forward,  but  re- 
turning men  barred  the  way.  There  were 
murmurs  of  an  accident.  People  with  good 
eyesight  imagined  they  saw  a  slow  proces- 
sion moving  through  the  grounds.  Suddenly 
Quelch  appearing  from  the  gloom  of  trees 
and  shrubs  walked  into  the  brightly-lit 
verandah.  Loree  forgot  her  grievances 
against  him  and  ran  to  meet  him. 

"What  has  happened"?  Do  tell  me,  Mr 
Quelch.    I  feel  so  frightened." 

"Nothing,"  he  murmured  reassuringly — 
"at  least  nothing  you  can  help.  An  unfor- 
tunate accident.  A  fellow  fooling  with  a 
revolver,  out  there,  has  wounded  himself 
rather  badly." 

"Oh,  poor  fellow '' 

"Who  is  it? '' 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   119 

"What  a  strange  thing  to  be  playing  with 
a  revolver  at  this  hour!" 

"Where  is  he  hurt? " 

The  women  were  all  speaking  at  once,  in 
great  excitement  and  curiosity,  but  Quelch's 
calm  manner  began  to  reassure  them. 
Though  not  able  to  tell  them  much,  he  dis- 
closed the  belief  that  the  wound  was  not 
fatal,  and  gently  advised  every  one  to  go  to 
bed.  Loree  was  one  of  the  first  to  follow  his 
good  counsel.  As  she  moved  away  he  stepped 
beside  her  for  an  instant. 

"Oh !  Mrs  Temple,  it  was  quite  all  right 
about  the  necklace  of  course.  Mrs  Solano  is 
immensely  sorry  to  have  made  such  a  mis- 
take, and  is  writing  to  you  in  the  morning." 

"Oh  .  .  .  thank  you,"  stammered  Loree, 
turning  very  pink. 

"Mrs  Cork  has  it,  and  will  return  it  to 
you,"  added  Quelch,  then  turned  back  to 
the  few  still  questioning  women  who  lin- 
gered, and  Loree  hastened  to  her  room. 

Valeria  Cork  was  not  awaiting  her  as  she 


120  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

had  hoped.  The  last  seen  of  that  lady* — who 
did  not  dance — was  at  a  bridge  table  in  the 
lounge,  brooding  (to  judge  by  her  looks) 
over  a  bad  hand  and  a  bad  partner.  Well, 
no  doubt  she  would  arrive  presently.  In  the 
meantime  Loree  stood  waiting  in  a  state  of 
almost  painful  relief.  It  had  been  a  glorious 
evening.  As  a  woman  she  had  achieved  un 
succes  fou  by  her  beauty  and  her  clothes. 
She  had  lit  many  little  fires  in  the  eyes  of 
men — hungry  little  fires  of  longing  and  de- 
sire and  admiration  such  as  most  women 
think  it  no  shame  to  light  and  leave  burning. 
But  through  it  all  she  had  felt  a  consuming 
fear  about  the  diamonds.  That  horrible  in- 
cident had  shaken  her  through  and  through, 
and  come  near  to  spoiling  her  pleasure  in  the 
rest  of  life.  And  now  since  Quelch  had 
spoken  the  words  that  put  an  end  to  her  sus- 
pense she  allowed  herself  for  a  moment  to 
realise  the  terror  of  what  might  have  been 
if  Mrs  Solano  had  been  able  to  make  good 
her  claim.    What  a  frightful  scandal  might 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  121 

have  ensued!  ...  a  scandal  that  would 
surely  have  reached  Pat's  ears — ^her  Pat  so 
dear  and  trusting  I  He  seemed  to  grow  sud- 
denly very  dear  as  she  sat  there  waiting  and 
wondering:  dear  as  things  departed  for  ever 
out  of  reach  are  dear :  dear  as  the  dead ! 

A  soft  tap  came  on  the  door  and  a  softer 
whisper. 

"Are  you  asleep,  Mrs  Temple*?" 

She  rushed  to  open  it.  Mrs  Cork  stood 
there. 

"I  thought  you  were  in  bed  and  asleep!" 

" No,"  stammered  Loree.    "I  was  just 

going 'to  undress." 

"I  only  wanted  to  bring  you  this,"  said 
Mrs  Cork  lightly,  and  handed  something  to 
her  in  a  glittering  heap.  "Of  course  it  was 
all  a  mistake  of  that  silly  Mrs  Solano's. 
Mr  Quelch  was  very  angry  with  her,  but  she 
is  extremely  penitent,  I  believe,  and  going  to 
write  you  a  letter  of  abject  apology  in  the 
morning." 

Loree  took  the  necklace  without  a  word. 


122  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Mrs  Cork  gave  her  a  strange  look,  then  she 
said  "Good-night"  abruptly  and  went  swiftly 
down  the  corridor. 

Loree  locked  the  door  and  returned  to  her 
dressing  table.  Very  slowly  she  let  the  neck- 
lace ripple  out  of  her  hands  through  her 
slim  fingers  on  to  the  white  cloth.  It  lay 
a  heap  of  glory,  winking  at  her.  At  first  she 
hated  it.  It  had  given  her  some  terrible  mo- 
ments. She  had  a  mind  to  fling  it  through 
the  windows  into  the  garden  below  and  let 
who  would  find  it  and  keep  it.  But  she 
looked  at  it  too  long,  and  once  more  it  wove 
its  magic  round  her  heart,  round  her  mind, 
round  her  senses  and  her  conscience.  At  last 
she  took  it  up  and  kissed  it. 

"Oh,  my  darling!"  she  cried.  "If  I  had 
lost  you!" 

Suddenly  it  occurred  to  her  to  look  at  the 
clasp. 

Then  her  face  grew  very  pale,  for  strange 
to  say  there  were  two  blue  diamonds  oa 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  123 

either  side  of  it  .  .  .  two  stones  of  a  livid 
brilliance  sending  out  piercing  rays  of  azure 
light  and  seeming  to  guard  that  little  gate  of 
platinum  which  held  the  chain  together.  It 
seemed  an  extraordinary  coincidence !  What 
was  it  that  Mrs  Solano  had  said  about  "de- 
fects" and  a  "Death's  head"*?  She  raised 
the  chain  high  to  the  light  and  gazed  in- 
tently into  the  heart  of  each.  And  then  her 
own  heart  gave  a  beat  and  seemed  to  wait  a 
little.  For  in  one  of  those  blue  diamonds 
there  were  three  tiny  dots  that  gave  back  th£ 
curious  illusion  of  a  squinting,  grinning 
Death's  head, 

*  *  * 
Yet,  in  the  morning,  even  as  Valeria  had 
predicted,  on  her  tray  lay  the  letter  of  apol- 
ogy  from  Mrs  Solano.  It  was  not  abject, 
however.  That  high-spirited  and  adventur- 
ous Jewess  knew  not,  it  seemed,  the  paths  of 
humility.  But  she  was  no*-  without  courtesy 
ia  her  amende  honorable. 


124  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Dear  Mrs  Temple: 

I  am  sure  that  you  received  your  necklace 
back  safely  from  the  trusted  hands  of  our 
mutual  friend,  Mr  Quelch.  I  have  to  tell 
you  how  extremely  sorry  I  am  for  the  foolish 
mistake  I  made.  I  am  afraid  that  it  caused 
you  much  pain  and  vexation  and  can  only 
ask  you  very  sincerely  to  forgive  me  and  for- 
get all  about  the  unfortunate  incident. 
Very  faithfully  yours, 

Rachel  Solano. 

Oh,  yes,  Mrs  Temple  forgave.  She  was 
only  too  thankful  to  do  so.  A  great  weight 
seemed  lifted  off  her  shoulders.  But  the 
shock  she  had  received  from  the  "unfortu- 
nate mistake"  together  with  the  fatigue  of 
dancing  and  the  excitement  generally  had  left 
her  very  weary.  She  decided  to  rest  for 
a  great  part  of  the  day,  and  lay  abed,  gently 
dreaming.  With  her  lunch  came  copies  of 
the  two  daily  papers.  Like  all  local  news- 
papers they  were  not  very  interesting  to  visit- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   125 

ors.  But  to-day  there  was,  naturally,  a  long 
account  of  the  Royal  reception  and  Ball  of 
the  night  before.  Loree  glanced  down  the 
printed  columns  to  find  herself  famous  as 
"the  lovely  Mrs  Temple."  Far  more  room 
was  given  to  her  in  the  news  than  to  the 
famous  Princess  Evelyn.  Every  item  of  her 
toilette  was  described,  every  shade  of  her 
gown,  every  leaf  almost  in  the  sheaf  of  roses 
she  had  carried.  The  journalists  dwelt  upon 
her  glorious  hair,  its  maze  of  bronze  curls 
above  her  face  of  ivory  and  roses,  they  spoke 
of  the  grace  of  her  walk,  her  exquisite  danc- 
ing. It  was  only  natural  she  should  glow 
a  little,  lying  there  reading  those  panegyrics 
of  praise.  She  had  never  before  seen  herself 
in  print. 

She  could  not,  however,  help  being  struck 
by  a  fact  which  seemed  very  curious.  Not  a 
word  had  been  written  about  her  diamond 
chain.  What  made  the  omission  conspicuous 
was  that  almost  every  other  woman's  jewels 


126  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

were  mentioned  in  detail,  their  diamonds 
counted  and  catalogued.    There  were: 

"Mrs  Ikey  Mosenthal's  famous  tiara " 

"Mrs  Solly  Moses'  wreath  of  Jagersfon- 
tein  roses " 

"Miss  Rebecca  Isaac's  magnificent  neck- 
lace and  pendant  of  water- white  stones " 

"Lady  von  Guggenheim's  priceless  plaque 
of  black  diamonds " 

Only  Mrs  Temple's  exquisite  chain  was 
unhonoured  and  unsung.  It  was  passing 
strange  and  gave  her  furiously  to  think.  But 
at  last  she  hit  upon  what  might  be  the  cor- 
rect solution  of  the  mystery.  The  journalists 
had  probably  not  been  able  to  set  about  the 
business  of  examining  and  describing  clothes 
and  jewels  until  after  the  Royal  Party's  de- 
parture. As  it  was  soon  after  that  time  that 
the  Solano  incident  had  occurred,  followed 
by  the  temporary  departure  of  the  diamond 
chain  from  Mrs  Temple's  neck,  she  reasoned 
that  the  journalists  had  not  described  it  be- 
cause they  had  not  seen  it.    Which  was,  after 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   127 

all,  a  great  piece  of  luck  for  her,  for  she 
could  not  help  realising  that  the  newspaper 
accounts  might  easily  come  to  her  husband's 
eyes,  and  how  very  difficult  it  would  be  for 
her  to  explain  to  him  how  she  came  to  be 
wearing  a  priceless  necklace  of  which  he  had 
no  knowledge.  As  it  was  she  could  cut  out 
the  paragraphs  and  send  them  to  him. 

She  gave  a  deep  sigh  of  relief,  then  read 
the  description  of  herself  all  over  again, 
browing  delicately  upon  the  praise  of  her 
beauty.  Just  as  she  was  laying  down  the 
papers  a  name  caught  her  eye — a  name  she 
had  heard  before  though  she  could  not  re- 
member where.  It  was  heavily  leaded  at  the 
top  of  a  long  column,  and  composed  a  start- 
ling phrase. 

Suicide  of  Mr  Frederick  Huffe 

It  was  the  story  of  some  unfortunate  man 
— a  Banker-solicitor — who  had  betrayed  his 
trusts  and  blown  out  his  brains.  Loree 
glanced  cursorily  at  it,  at  first.    Her  tastes 


128   Fink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

were  not  morbid  and  it  really  gave  her  pain 
to  read  of  people  in  distress.  She  was  not 
one  of  those  who,  as  Masefield  puts  it,  find 
intoxication  in  another's  suffering,  excitement 
in  another's  hell.  But  the  words  "in  the  gar- 
den of  the  Belgrove  Hotel"  arrested  her  at- 
tention and  she  read  on.  When  she  had  fin- 
ished she  knew  that  the  revolver  shot  they 
had  heard  at  the  end  of  the  ball  was  the  sharp 
crack  of  doom  that  had  sent  Frederick  Huffe 
out  of  the  world. 

"Many  men  rushed  to  the  spot  at  once," 
ran  the  story,  "but  Frederick  Huffe,  brilliant 
man  of  the  world,  Dast-master  of  every  sport 
and  accomplishment  to  which  he  turned  his 
hand,  was  also  a  sure  and  certain  gun-man, 
and  had  made  no  mistake.  Death  must  have 
been  instantaneous." 

So  Ouelch's  reassuring  words  were  untrue ! 
They  were  only  spoken  to  get  the  women 
away  quietly!  It  was  comprehensible  of 
course.  One  could  not  blame  him  for  it, 
thought  Loree.     In  fact  she  rather  admired 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  129 

him  for  it,  reflecting  once  more  upon  his 
worldly  wisdom  and  capability.  How  cool 
and  gentle  and  helpful  he  had  shown  himself 
in  the  matter  of  the  necklace.  He  had  been 
a  real  friend.  Perhaps  if  the  unfortunate 
Frederick  Huffe  had  possessed  such  a  friend 
he  would  never  have  come  to  his  desperate 
end !  What  a  strange  thing,  though,  that  he 
should  choose  to  do  it  out  there  in  the  Bel- 
grove  garden,  after  the  ball  where  he  had 
been  dancing  and  apparently  enjoying  life  to 
the  end!  However  she  would  not  let  her 
thoughts  linger  further  on  the  tragedy.  Be- 
sides, the  phrase  "Mr  Huffe  had  financial 
worries"  suddenly  reminded  her  of  something 
else,  something  that  in  the  press  of  events 
she  had  almost  forgotten — the  financial  wor- 
ries of  Mrs  Cork.  As  she  dressed  for  dinner 
she  determined  she  would  go  into  matters 
and  try  and  find  a  way  of  helping  her  friend. 
Never,  never  would  she  forget  how  staunch 
Valeria  had  been  in  the  terrifying  ordeal  with 
the  Solano  woman,   and  she  resolved  that 


130   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

coute  que  coute  she  would  repay  that  staunch 
friendship. 

At  dinner-time  she  went  boldly  to  the 
other  woman's  table  and  asked  if  she  might 
dine  there,  as  she  was  tired  of  her  own  table. 
But  Valeria  Cork  had  lost  her  friendly  air  of 
the  evening  before  and  relapsed  into  her  dry 
and  cynical  self.  As  the  table  where  she  sat 
was  invariably  laid  for  four  persons  she  could 
not  very  well  refuse,  but  she  looked  bored 
by  the  request,  and,  if  eyes  can  speak,  hers 
said  plainly  that  she  thought  Loree  a  nui- 
sance. Loree,  however,  had  reasons  both  sel- 
fish and  altruistic  for  being  thick-skinned, 
and  she  meant  to  cleave  closer  than  a  brother 
to  Valeria.  She  observed  that  again  the  Bra- 
zilian diamond  was  again  absent  from  the 
widow's  throat,  and  she  felt  certain  now,  that 
accident  could  no  longer  be  accountable  for 
this.  The  conviction  grew  in  her  that  the 
diamond  had  been  left  in  the  horrible  little 
pawnshop.  No  wonder  Mrs  Cork's  eyes 
were  arid  and  her  tongue  bitter !    A  few  min- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   131 

utes  later  Quelch  came  in.  Instantly  his 
eyes  found  the  two  women,  and  he  came  over. 

"Why  should  I  be  left  out  in  the  cold?" 
he  plaintively  demanded. 

Mrs  Cork  assumed  an  even  more  bored 
air. 

"Oh,  you  can  come.  If  I  have  one,  I  may 
as  well  have  half  a  dozen." 

He  took  no  notice  of  her  disagreeables,  sit- 
ting down  and  making  himself  pleasant  to 
them  both,  though  both  knew  full  well  for 
whom  were  his  gentle  words  and  bold,  en- 
folding gaze.  Sometimes  Loree  had  the  sen- 
sation that  they  were  scorching  through  her 
gown  and  searing  her  very  flesh.  More  than 
ever  she  resolved  to  cling  to  the  society  of 
Valeria  Cork.  The  latter  remained  distrait 
and  contemptuous,  and  when  Quelch  asked 
them  to  go  to  the  theatre  after  dinner,  curtly 
replied  that  she  had  a  bridge  engagement. 
Loree  also  refused,  but  in  more  dulcet  fash- 
ion. She  said  she  feared  the  night  air.  No 
one  mentioned  the  affair  of  the  diamond 


182   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

necklace,  nor  was  the  subject  of  the  suicide 
referred  to.  Loree  was  grateful  for  both  of 
these  things. 

After  coffee  and  idle  gossip  in  the  lounge, 
Mrs  Cork  rose  to  join  the  two  dominant- 
nosed  ladies  and  a  nosier  man.  Loree  also 
rose.  She  had  suddenly  developed  a  migraine. 
This  was  indicated  by  the  use  of  a  minute 
gold  bottle  of  smelling-salts  and  a  delicate 
gesture  of  her  hand  across  her  forehead  and 
hair,  as  if  brushing  away  pain.  Quelch 
looked  on  with  troubled  eyes,  but  it  was  vain 
for  him  to  plead  that  five  minutes  in  the  gar- 
den would  do  her  dl  the  good  in  the  world. 

"Not  when  I  have  a  migraine  like  this," 
she  dolefully  replied,  and  repeated  the  lovely 
gesture,  pushing  pain  back  into  her  emotional 
hair,  which  bronzed  and  winged  above  her 
brows  like  fine  threads  of  metal. 

"When  I  have  a  headache  like  this,  noth- 
ing cures  it  but  bed,"  she  averred,  and  cast 
her  priez'pour-moi  look  at  him. .  With  a  bar- 
ricade of  protecting  people  about,  she  was 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   133 

enjoying  herself  immensely.  It  was  a  pity  to 
go  away  from  anything  so  rousing  and  ex- 
citing as  his  sultry  glances.  But  it  was  safer 
than  to  stay.  You  never  knew  what  a  law- 
less man  like  that  might  do.  She  offered  her 
hand  in  good  night,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
take  it  with  the  best  grace  he  could  muster. 
But  he  held  it  very  closely,  and  did  not  re- 
lease it  until  the  red  colour  in  her  face  re- 
sponded to  his  pressure.  Then,  careless  of 
what  any  one  thought,  he  stood  perfectly  still, 
watching  her  out  of  sight.  She  tripped  up 
the  stairs,  not  at  all  like  a  woman  suffering 
from  migraine.  Her  sprightly  movements 
brought  a  cold,  resolute  look  into  his  dark 
face. 

Her  mind  was  full  of  both  business  and 
pleasure.  First,  and  always,  there  were  the 
diamonds  wherewith  to  console  solitude. 
Secondly,  she  had  come  by  an  inspiration 
during  dinner,  and  was  anxious  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  It  was  an  inspiration  to  repay 
"whatever  gods  may  be"  for  the  felicity  of 


134  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

her  diamonds  by  doing  a  good  action  which 
would  also  bring  pleasure  to  another.  She 
had  determined  to  solace  the  financial 
troubles  of  Valeria  Cork  by  secretly  present- 
ing her  with  Pat's  fifty-pound  note.  Such 
noble  and  pleasant  intentions  lend  wings  to 
the  feet.  She  flew  to  her  room  and  obtained 
the  note.  But  a  black  boy  was  tidying  out  a 
bathroom  next  door  to  Mrs  Cork's  bedroom, 
and  she  could  not  enter  without  being  seen 
by  him.  Trying  the  balcony,  she  found  a 
maid  flirting  there  with  some  one's  valet. 

Obliged  to  possess  her  soul  in  patience  till 
the  coast  was  clear,  she  returned  to  the  con- 
templation of  her  diamonds.  It  was  nearly 
an  hour  before  absolute  solitude  prevailed 
and  she  was  able  to  steal  to  Mrs  Cork's  door 
— only  to  find  it  locked!  The  door  leading 
from  the  balcony  proved  to  be  in  like  case. 
This  was  a  contingency  that  had  not  occurred 
to  her.  She  constantly  left  her  own  door  un- 
locked, and  supposed  that  other  people  did 
the  same.     However,  her  mind  was  nimble, 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   135 

and  never  left  her  long  without  an  idea.  She 
went  to  her  room  and  placed  the  bank-note 
flat,  in  a  large  white  envelope.  For  a  mo- 
ment, she  toyed  with  the  temptation  to  write, 
"From  a  friend,"  upon  the  covering,  but  de- 
cided not  to.  Mrs  Cork  might  know  her 
writing,  and  that  would  never  do.  She 
wished  the  gift  to  be  as  anonymous  as  her 
own  gift  from  the  gods.  Returning  to  the 
locked  door,  she  knelt  down,  and,  with  great 
difficulty,  worked  the  envelope  underneath, 
computing  that,  as  soon  as  the  door  opened, 
there  it  would  lie,  obvious  and  inviting. 
When,  at  last,  she  rose  from  her  knees  flushed 
and  hot,  but  rather  pleased  with  herself,  it 
was  to  find  Valeria  Cork  had  come  soft- 
footed  down  the  corridor  and  was  leaning 
against  the  opposite  wall  watching  the  pro- 
ceedings. She  had  an  unlighted  cigarette  be- 
tween her  lips  and  something  very  like  a 
sneer  in  her  sardonic  eyes. 

"If  you've  quite  finished  operations,"  she 
said,  "I'll  go  in  and  make  the  discovery." 


136   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Loree,  caught  red-handed  at  her  good 
works,  confused  and  agacee,  stood  like  a  con- 
victed thief.  For  a  moment,  she  thought  of 
explaining.  It  seemed  the  only  thing  to  do. 
But  the  other  woman's  manner  was  so  ex- 
traordinarily hostile  that  she  was  both 
alarmed  and  resentful.  In  silence  and  with 
great  dignity,  she  walked  away.  But  be- 
hind her  own  closed  door  she  stood  palpi- 
tating with  apprehension  for  what  would 
happen  next.  She  had  not  long  to  wait.  A 
sharp  knock  came  on  the  door,  and,  with- 
out waiting  for  it  to  be  opened,  Valeria  Cork 
marched  in,  holding  the  note  and  envelope 
as  if  they  were  something  infectious. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this*?  How  dare 
you?' 

Loree,  scarlet,  stood  clinging  to  the  brass 
rail  of  her  bed.  There  did  not  seem  to  be 
any  words  adequate  to  the  occasion.  Im- 
possible to  inform  this  coldly  furious  woman 
that  she  had  appeared  to  an  onlooker  as  a 
fit  recipient  for  charity.     There  was  a  brief 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   137 

silence,  Mrs  Cork  obviously  trying  to  con- 
trol her  temper. 

"I  should  like  an  explanation  of  this — this 
kindness"  She  bit  off  the  last  word  with 
the  utmost  irony. 

"There  is  no  explanation,"  said  Loree 
lamely. 

"But  this  is  your  banknote?"  Silence. 

"I  saw  you  pushing  it  under  my  door." 
Silence. 

"I  insist  upon  an  explanation." 

Still  Loree  kept  silence.  There  was  ab- 
solutely nothing  to  say.  "I  can  only  sup- 
pose," said  Valeria  Cork,  at  last,  "that  it  is 
some  kind  of  conscience-money  you  were  try- 
ing to  foist  off  on  me." 

"No,  no!"  murmured  Mrs  Temple,  her 
colour  growing  brighter. 

"Then,"  said  the  other  slowly,  "you  were 
trying  to  buy  me.  For  some  reason  or  other, 
jou  think  I  am  to  be  bought."  For  a  mo- 
ment, she  looked  at  Loree  piercingly.    "That 


138   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

k  my  answer."     She  flung  the  note  in  its 
owner's  face  and  swept  from  the  room. 

A  sad  ending  to  a  noble  deed !  Loree  col- 
lapsed on  to  her  bed  and  wept  miserably.  For 
a  time,  at  least,  even  diamonds  were  power- 
less to  assuage  her  humiliation. 


Part  Three 


PART   THREE 

MRS  CORK  would  not  even  look  at  her 
the  next  day.  She  was  thrown 
abruptly  upon  her  own  sociej:y,  for  Quelch, 
too,  without  hail  or  farewell,  disappeared 
from  the  horizon.  This  was  a  relief  in  a  way, 
though  it  could  not  be  denied  that  she  missed 
him  as  one  misses  the  glow  of  a  fire  from  a 
room.  But  something  had  gone  wrong  with 
life  altogether,  somehow,  and  the  flavour  of 
it  was  dry  on  her  tongue.  She  began  to 
weary  of  Kimberley  and  the  monotonous  ex- 
istence in  the  luxurious  hotel.  More  than 
ever  she  was  obsessed  by  the  diamonds.  Yet 
the  pink  god  often  seemed  to  mock  her  when 
she  took  it  from  its  shrine,  and  she  began 
to  realise  that  though  it  is  sweet  to  look 
upon  the  image  of  yourself  suitably  decked 

with  jewels,  it  is  sweeter  still  to  let  the  world 
141 


142   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

look  upon  you  and  admire.  In  fact,  there 
did  not  seem  to  be  much  object  in  jewels 
that  you  had  to  wear  hidden.  Something, 
too,  was  missing  from  the  diamonds — some 
quality  or  spirit  that  Pat's  pearls  possessed, 
sad  as  they  were  compared  with  the  stones. 
She  could  not  think  what  it  was,  and  did 
not  try  very  hard  to  discover,  for  the  pearls 
had  a  reproach  for  her.  Time  was  when 
she  could  linger  over  them  daily,  looking 
into  their  little  lustrous  faces,  almost  know- 
ing each  one  of  the  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  singly.  Now  she  locked  them  away,  and 
with  them  the  beautiful  pearl  rings  Pat  had 
given  her.  She  longed  to  have  the  rose-pink 
diamond  set  in  a  ring  and  to  wear  it  blazing 
alone  on  her  hand.  But  greatly  daring  as 
she  was,  she  did  not  dare  that,  in  this  hotel 
and  town  which  belonged  to  De  Beers,  to 
whom  the  stone  also  belonged,  though  they 
did  not  know  it  was  in  her  possession. 

At  about  eleven  o'clock  that  morning  she 
was  in  the  lounge  taking  tea  after  the  pleas- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    143 

ant  and  refreshing  custom  of  the  country. 
Mrs  Cork  and  some  gambling  cronies  were 
bridging  as  usual  at  another  table,  and  there 
were  various  people  scattered  about,  reading 
and  gossiping.  Only  Loree  Temple  was 
alone  and  a  little  lonely.  It  was  with  pleas- 
ure that  she  saw  young  Dalkeith  walk  in.  He 
had  brought  her  a  book  they  had  been  dis- 
cussing at  the  ball,  but  to  her  disappoint- 
ment could  not  stay,  as  he  had  a  business  en- 
gagement. She  poured  him  out  a  cup  of  tea 
and  he  lingered  a  few  moments,  gossiping. 
Then,  for  the  first  time  since  the  ball,  she 
heard  spoken  reference  to  the  tragedy  of 
Frederick  Huffe. 

"I  have  just  come  from  the  inquest,"  said 
Dalkeith.     "Awful,  wasn't  it?' 

"Terrible."  Loree  closed  her  eyes  and 
shivered  a  little.    She  did  not  like  sad  things. 

"And  I  don't  care  what  any  one  says — " 
went  on  the  boy.  "He  was  one  of  the  best. 
Even  if  his  finances  ddd  go  a  bit  astray  in  the 


144   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

stress  of  life  he  was  one  of  the  best.  Didn't 
you  think  so,  Mrs  Temple"?" 

"IV  said  Loree  opening  her  eyes  in  sur- 
prise.    "I  did  not  know  him." 

"No,  of  course  you  didn't  know  him  well, 
but  you  were  dancing  with  him  a  lot  after  I 
introduced  him  to  you,  and  I  thought  you 
seemed  to  like  him.  Every  one  liked  old 
Freddy  and  found  him  charming." 

Loree,  who  had  turned  very  white,  sat  star- 
ing at  him,  her  lips  slightly  apart. 

"Was  that  Frederick  Huffe'?"  she  whis- 
pered at  last.  "That  nice  man  who  went 
away  and  never  came  back  for  the  dance  I 
had  promised  him?" 

"My  God!  didn't  you  know?"  exclaimed 
Dalkeith.     "I  am  sorry." 

After  he  had  gone  she  sat  there  a  long 
time,  very  white  and  still.  She  was  remem- 
bering acutely  the  lines  of  that  pleasant, 
charming  face,  the  satirical  yet  boyish  blue 
eye  behind  the  eye-glass,  his  gay  and  witty 
remarks,  his  zest  for  dancing.     Yet  all  the 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  145 

while  he  was  weary  of  life!  Death  was  at 
his  elbow ! 

While  she  sat  there  meditating  on  the 
strangeness  of  men,  and  on  the  masks  they 
year,  concealing  their  true  selves  from  the 
world,  she  saw  an  attendant  approach  the 
table  where  Mrs  Cork  was  playing  cards  and 
hand  her  a  telegram. 

On  reading  it,  Mrs  Cork  put  down  her 
cards  and  asked  to  be  excused  from  the  game. 
The  words:  "Bad  News"  were  spoken  in  a 
calm  voice,  but  as  she  passed,  Loree  saw  that 
her  face  was  of  a  deadly  pallor,  haggard  and 
wintry,  with  sombre  eyes.  No  more  was  seen 
of  her  that  day  or  the  next.  The  maids  re- 
ported that  her  news  seemed  bad  indeed  and 
that  she  was  prostrate,  but  no  details  trans- 
pired. 

Loree  longed  miserably  to  go  and  condole, 
but  dared  not  intrude  upon  one  so  bitterly 
offended  with  her.  The  next  best  thing 
seemed  to  be  to  try  and  explain  and  to  ask  for 


146   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

forgiveness.    She  spent  the  whole  of  an  after- 
noon composing  a  penitent  letter. 

Dear  Mrs  Cork: 

I  am  so  deeply  sorry  that  you  are  offended 
with  me.  Please  do  not  be.  It  was  an  im- 
pertinence on  my  part  to  put  that  note  in 
your  room,  and  I  beg  your  pardon.  But  I 
did  not  do  it  out  of  any  feeling  except  of 
pure  friendliness  and  liking  for  you.  Also,  I 
had  a  reason  for  supposing  that  you  were  in 
need  of  money,  and  I  thought  it  would  be  a 
nice  way  of  spending  the  fifty  pounds  my 
husband  had  sent  me  for  a  birthday  present 
by  giving  another  woman  a  helping  hand, 
just  as  I  hope  a  woman  would  help  me  if  ever 
I  were  in  trouble. 

Yours  sincerely, 

LORAINE   LOREE   TeMPLE. 

She  gave  it  to  the  maid  for  delivery  and 
went  down  to  dinner,  though  without  the 
light  heart  a  decent  action  should  have  en- 
sured. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   147 

The  fact  that  she  had  known  the  man  who 
shot  himself — danced,  laughed,  talked  with 
him  within  half  an  hour  of  his  desperate  exit 
from  the  world  obsessed  her  poignantly.  She 
longed  for  something  or  some  one  to  distract 
her  from  the  sad  memory,  and  with  what  re- 
lief did  she  find  that  Heseltine  Quelch  had 
returned,  reappearing  from  nowhere  as  sud- 
denly as  he  had  gone.  As  she  came  down  the 
stairs  he,  too,  faultlessly  groomed  and  deb- 
onair, crossed  the  hall.  He  was  taking  a  pile 
of  letters  and  telegrams  from  the  hands  of  his 
man,  but  at  sight  of  Loree  he  handed  them 
back  with  the  brief  comment:  "Put  them 
in  my  room.  Fll  go  through  them  later," 
and  came  straight  to  her,  as  the  bee  to  the 
honey-flower.  As  for  her,  after  two  dull, 
lonely  days,  the  fire  was  lit  once  more,  and 
ihe  warmed  herself  and  smiled  in  the  glow 
of  it.  A  certain  recklessness  entered  into  her, 
and  she  let  his  eyes  enfold  and  caress  her 
without  the  rebuke  a  woman  knows  so  well 
kow  to  introduce  into  her  manner.     After 


148   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

all,  she  said  to  herself,  if  he  was  so  deter- 
mined to  hurt  himself,  why  should  she  worry 
for  him*?  People  who  go  looking  for  scalps 
must  expect  scars.  If  she  felt  herself  in  dan- 
ger, she  could  draw  back  and  escape,  as  she 
had  done  that  other  night.  What  could  he 
do  but  acquiesce*?  She  was  not  in  his  power 
in  any  way.  She  had  never  given  him  en- 
couragement to  make  a  fool  of  himself.  If 
he  now  mistook  her  very  natural  pleasure 
at  having  boredom  relieved  for  any  warmer 
feeling  on  her  part,  well — tant  pis  for  him ! 
His  blood  was  on  his  own  head,  and  hers  not 
the  fault. 

Thus  she  reasoned,  justifying  herself  for 
once  more  plunging  into  the  fascinating 
game,  walking  on  the  wild  precipice,  flutter- 
ing near  the  live  wire  on  which  some  women 
might  meet  disaster  but  to  which  she  intended 
to  remain  invulnerable.  Thp  cruelty  which 
so  often  comes  with  consciousness  of  power 
stirred  her.  She  knew  now  that,  though  she 
felt  the  charm  of  Quelch,  it  would  give  her 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  149 

pleasure  to  punish  him  through  his  passion 
for  her.  If  she  had  seen  that  cold  and  reso- 
lute look  on  his  face  two  evenings  before, 
when  he  watched  her  tripping  upstairs,  she 
might  not  have  been  so  sure  of  her  power 
to  punish. 

They  dined  together.  A  gay  and  light- 
hearted  pair  of  friends,  so  far  as  the  world 
could  see.  Only  they  knew  what. secret  cur- 
rents were  flashing  and  sparkling  between 
them,  fed  by  her  alluring  smiles  and  graces. 
After  coffee,  he  suggested  the  garden.  It  was 
very  lovely  out  there  amid  the  trees  and  wet 
roses.  Loree  resisted  a  little,  yet  it  seemed 
safe  enough  within  sound,  almost  within 
sight  of  the  verandah,  where  several  people 
loitered,  smoking  and  gossiping. 

But  she  kept  to  the  clear,  open  paths,  and 
it  seemed  politic  now  to  infuse  into  her  man- 
ner a  tinge  of  coldness.  Instantly,  that  grim 
resolute  expression  passed  over  his  face,  but 
he  said  nothing,  only  bided  his  time,  and 
when  presently  they  came  near  a  vine-laden 


150   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

pergola,  he  thrust  an  arm  through  hers  and, 
with  a  suddenness  that  took  her  unawares, 
guided  her  into  obscurity.  Haughtily  she 
disengaged  herself,  but  he  remained  facing 
her,  standing  between  her  and  the  hotel,  and 
his  words  were  arresting. 

"You  must  stop  fooling  me,  Loree.  My 
love  is  too  great  to  be  blown  hot  upon  one 
minute  and  cold  the  next." 

"I  don't  think  I  understand *' 

"Oh,  beloved,  you  do!  You  know  that  I 
love  you."  His  voice  was  of  a  tenderness  in- 
describable. It  played  across  her  taut  nerve* 
like  the  bow  on  a  violin. 

"You  must — be  mad!"  she  faltered. 

He  smiled. 

"Yes;  a  divine  madness.  You  are  touched 
with  it,  too." 

"No!  No!"  she  protested.  JHe  gave  a 
short  laugh  and  caught  her  in  his  arms,  hold- 
ing her  close  and  kissing  her  rapidly  and 
fiercely.  She  resisted,  but  he  held  her  closer; 
she  protested,  but  he  drank  the  words  off 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  151 

her  lips.  He  swept  her  from  her  feet,  holding 
her  to  his  heart  and  taking  his  fill  of  her 
mouth,  her  eyes,  her  throat,  her  hair.  It 
was  as  though  a  great  wave  of  the  sea  had 
broken  over  her.  She  lost  her  voice,  almost 
her  senses,  in  the  madness  of  the  moment,  but 
her  heart  knew  fear  and  an  agony  of  shame. 
At  last  he  released  her,  and  she  leaned,  like 
a  flower  broken  in  a  storm,  against  the  side 
of  the  pergola. 

"How  dare  you  I  How  dare  you!"  she 
breathed,  white  with  anger. 

"How  dare  W  he  said  gently.  "Oh,  be- 
loved one — lovely  one — surely  you  have 
given  the  right  I" 

"Never!  Never!"  she  denied  passionately. 

He  made  a  gesture  to  her  breast,  where 
something  sparkled  and  shone.  In  her  strug- 
gle to  loose  herself  from  his  arms,  the  chain 
of  diamonds  had  torn  its  way  through  the 
filmy  tissue  of  her  gown. 

"Why,  then,  do  you  wear  my  jewel*, 
Loree?' 


152   Pinh  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

There  was  a  long  silence  after  that.  He 
stood  looking  at  her  with  pleading  eyes.  She 
was  like  something  carved  and  riven  out  of 
pallid  marble. 

''Your  jewels?"  she  whispered  at  last. 
''Your  jewels?' 

He  shrugged  a  little.  His  eyes  did  not 
lose  their  tenderness,  but  his  smile  was  a  lit- 
tle disdainful  of  the  flashing  chain. 

"They  are  unworthy  of  your  beauty,  but 
you  have  done  me  the  great  honour  to  wear 
them." 

Slowly  her  fingers  felt  for  the  stones  and 
clasped  them,  her  glance  still  in  his. 

"They  are  yours?"  she  murmured,  still 
dazed  and  bewildered  under  the  shock. 

"No;  yours,  Loree,  as  all  I  have  is  yours. 
Only  an  earnest  of  things  to  come.  You 
shall  wreathe  yourself  in  diamonds,  the  most 
beautiful  the  world  has  ever  seen — as  you 
yourself  are  and  shall  be  the  fairest  jewel 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  mine." 

"Your  words   are  madness!"   she  stam- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  153 

mered.  "How  can  I  be  yours?  I  am  a  mar- 
ried woman." 

"Oh,  that!" — with  a  gesture  and  a  scorn- 
ful smile  he  brushed  away  marriage  and  every 
obstacle  that  stood  between  them. 

"You  are  insane !"  she  insisted.  "I  never 
dreamed  of  such  a  thing.  And  how  could  I 
know  that  these  were  yours*?"  With  a  spurt 
of  anger  she  added,  "How  dared  you  put 
them  in  my  room*?" 

He  only  smiled  tolerantly. 

"You  accepted  them — and  wore  them." 

"But — I  did  not  know  they  were  yours." 

"Who  then,  loved  one,  did  you  think  was 
showering  almost  priceless  stones  upon  you?" 
he  inquired  with  gentle  irony. 

"I — I  don't  know.  I  never  thought  about 
it  at  all.     I  just  found   them  there — and 

thought "      She   broke   down.      It   was 

true,  but  it  sounded  too  puerile  and  childish. 

"You  thought  that  findings  were  keep- 
ings?" He  laughed.  "So  they  are,  darling, 
as  far  as  you  are  concerned.     And  for  me. 


154   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

too,  I  have  found  you,  and" — ^his  voice 
changed  from  laughter  and  became  strong 
and  soft  and  fierce — "by  God,  I  mean  to 
keep  you !"  As  suddenly  as  before,  he  caught 
her  to  his  breast.  "You  are  mine,  Loree, 
and  I  will  hold  you  against  the  world.  You 
are  something  I  have  been  looking  for  all  my 
life.  Your  beauty  makes  me — ^your  eyes — 
your  hair — it  is  wound  round  my  heart.    Ah 

— you  don't  know — women  don't  know " 

He  was  incoherent  in  his  fierce  passion, 
and  all  the  time  he  tore  kisses  from  her  lips, 
her  hair.  The  fires  she  had  played  with  and 
carelessly  fed  were  loosed  indeed,  and  raging 
to  consume.  Loraine  Loree  was  getting  all 
the  thrills  she  had  asked  from  life — and 
more !  Powerless  in  his  strong  arms,  hypno- 
tised by  the  force  of  one  who  had  always  had 
his  will  of  life,  gone  where  he  listed,  taken 
what  he  wished,  she  knew  now  she  could 
never  save  herself.  There  was  no  answering 
power  in  her  to  resist  his.  She  was  a  frail 
branch  in  a  whirlpool  of  strong  currents,  and 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  155 

the  strength  to  survive  was  not  in  herself. 
She  must  be  rescued.  But  who  would  rescue 
her*?  She  was  alone,  alone — and  lost!  At 
last,  the  white,  forlorn  stillness  of  her  quieted 
his  fierce  heart  and  he  loosed  her  gently. 

"Forgive  me,  darling !  Forgive  me !  Your 
loveliness,  the  sweetness  of  you  drives  me  be- 
yond myself.    When  will  you  come  to  me?*' 

"Come  to  you?"  She  looked  dazed  and 
strange,  clinging  to  the  pergola,  staring  at 
him. 

'KI)ome  linth  me.  We  will  go  away  from 
here  at  <mce — to  Europe — all  over  the 
world." 

"But  I "  she  began.     He  interrupted 

her  gently. 

"There  is  a  mail  for  the  Cape  to-morrow 
night.  I  cannot  wait  a  moment  longer, 
Loree." 

"I  will  not  come !"  She  drew  herself  up 
in  a  last  effort  at  resistance. 

"There  must  be  no  'will  not.'  "  His  eyei 
grew  colder,  his  jaw  resolute.    He  put  out  a 


156   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

light  finger  and  touched  the  diamonds. 
"Don't  you  understand  that,  by  this  chain, 
you  have  bound  yourself  to  me?  And  do 
you  think  I  will  ever  let  you  go?  Never!  I 
will  pull  down  the  temple  of  your  reputation 
into  the  dust  first,  and  perish  myself  in  the 
ruins.  Oh,  darling,  do  not  force  me  to  say 
such  things !" 

"You  could  not  touch  my  reputation,"  she 
said,  but  her  heart  trembled. 

"Would  you  wish  it  to  be  thought  that  you 
could  be  bought  with  diamonds,  Loree?  I 
understand ;  but  would  the  world  understand 
the  love  of  beauty  in  you  that  made  you 
take  that  rose  diamond  from  the  De  Beers 
office?" 

She  gave  a  wild  cry. 

"I  did  not!  I  did  not!  Oh,  you  know 
I  did  not!" 

He  shrugged  carelessly. 

"At  any  rate,  you  acquired  it,  and  kept 
it,  and  the  De  Beers  people — well,  they  are 
not  very  understanding,  either;  but  I  have 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   157 

power — I  explained,  defended  you,  paid  for 
the  diamond  and  for  silence." 

"My  God!  You  think  I  stole  it?  They 
think  so?"  She  swayed  as  if  she  had  been 
struck,  almost  fainting  from  this  worst  blow 
of  all. 

"What  does  it  matter  what  they  think?" 
he  said  soothingly.  "They  will  be  silent  be- 
cause I  will  it.  As  for  me,  I  love  you,  and 
nothing  you  do  could  make  any  difference." 

The  girl  stared  before  her,  distraught, 
frantic. 

"And  the  necklace?"  she  stammered. 

"The  necklace  was  different.  That  was 
my  gift  to  you,  and  you  have  graced  it  by 
wearing  it.  I  have  traced  its  outline  often 
round  your  lovely  shoulders — and  longed  for 
the  day  when  I  could  kiss  it  there." 

His  eyes  grew  dark  again  with  the  great 
passion  he  felt  for  her.  He  put  out  his  arms 
entreatingly.  But  she  drew  back,  shudder- 
ing. Her  lips  were  dumb;  her  hair  was  in 
turmoil ;  her  heart  seemed  turned  to  ice,  but 


158  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

her  feet  still  knew  their  uses.  She  dashed 
past  him  and  ran. 

Even  in  her  room,  with  the  door  locked  and 
barricaded,  she  did  not  feel  safe.  Panting, 
she  threw  herself  down  and  sobbed — dry  sobs 
of  fear  and  anger  and  despair.  What  had 
she  done*?    Where  would  it  end^ 

"Am  I  mad?"  she  whispered.  "Have  I 
been  walking  in  madness  all  these  days,  be- 
lieving myself  happy  with  these  accursed 
stones,  betraying  my  husband's  love  for  me — 
his  honour  and  upright  name?" 

She  wept,  she  trembled ;  she  cursed  the  day 
she  had  ever  seen  diamonds,  and  cast  them 
from  her  on  the  floor.  At  last,  she  flung  her- 
self on  her  knees  with  the  broken  and  bitter 
cry  of  a  contrite  heart. 

"O  God,  help  me!" 

To  her  door  came  a  soft  knock.  She  raised 
her  dreary,  emotion-racked  face  and  listened, 
trembling,  for  a  while  before  she  dared  re- 
spond with  an  inquiry. 

"Who  is  there?" 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   159 

It  was  Valeria  Cork's  voice  that  answered. 

"May  I  come  in  for  a  moment*?'* 

Loree's  first  impulse  was  to  deny  her.  All 
her  inclinations  were  opposed  to  being  seen 
in  such  a  state  of  misery  and  disarray.  Yet — 
had  she  not  called  on  God  for  help*?  And 
was  not  here  one  stronger  and  abler  than 
herself?  Of  instinct,  she  knew  that  Valeria 
Cork,  for  good  or  evil,  had  more  force  of 
will  than  she  herself  possessed.  She  opened 
the  door. 

Mrs  Cork,  with  her  ravaged  face  and 
burnt-out  eyes,  came  in,  carrying  the  note 
Loree  had  written  that  afternoon.  "Will  you 
tell  me,"  she  said,  in  a  cold,  far-off  voice  in 
which  there  was  no  life,  "what  your  reason 
was  for  supposing  I  stood  in  need  of  money?" 

The  whole  thing  seemed  of  small  conse- 
quence to  Loree  now.  Graver  issues  than 
another  woman's  displeasure  faced  her. 

"I  saw  you  in  the  pawnshop,  and  I  noticed 
afterwards  that  your  pendant  was  gone,"  she 
answered    drearily.      That    was    conclusive 


160  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

enough,  and  so  was  the  flush  that  stained  the 
older  woman's  cheek. 

"Oh!"  she  jerked  out,  and  for  a  moment 
stood  staring  at  the  distraught  face  of  the 
girl.  "Then  I  have  to  thank  you,  Mrs  Tem- 
ple, and  take  back  my  words.  I  see  now  that 
it  was  not  impertinence  on  your  part,  but  a 
rare  generosity.    I  am  ashamed." 

"It  doesn't  matter,"  said  Loree.  "Noth- 
ing matters." 

"What  is  wrong*?"  asked  Valeria  Cork 
dully,  and  sat  down.  She  seemed  unpre- 
pared for  Loree' s  action  in  flinging  her  arms 
round  her  and  bursting  into  tears,  but  she 
remained  stonily  calm. 

"Oh,  I  am  in  such  trouble  I"  sobbed  Loree. 
"Such  terrible  trouble!" 

"Tell  me  about  it." 

She  did  not  comfortingly  pat  the  girl  in 
her  arms,  or  kiss  her,  as  most  women  would 
have  done,  either  sincerely  or  insincerely. 
She  simply  sat  there,  holding  her  quietly, 
staring  before  her.     On  a  table,  the  photo- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  161 

graph  of  Pat  Temple  stared  back  with  his 
large,  frank  gaze. 

Loree  did  not  tell  the  full  tale,  but  only 
what  seemed  essential  to  make  the  other 
woman  understand  her  distress  and  peril.  She 
recounted  her  finding  of  the  necklace  and 
Quelch's  threats  and  bold  wooing  in  the  gar- 
den. But  she  did  not  begin  at  the  beginning 
of  the  trouble,  which  was  when  the  little 
pink  god  cast  its  spell  over  her.  There 
seemed  no  sense  in  dragging  forth  that  pagan 
idol  from  its  grove  wherein  she  had  so  aban- 
donedly  worshipped.  In  the  end,  she  sat 
wiping  her  tear-distorted  face  and  gazing 
hopelessly  at  the  other's  grave  eyes.  Said 
Valeria  Cork,  at  last: 

"He  has  us  both  in  his  power." 
"You*?  What  can  he  do  to  hurt  you?" 
"Much.    I  stole  a  rough  diamond  that  day 
we  went  to  the  De  Beers  office.    It  was  only 
by  grace  of  him  that  I  was  not  arrested." 
Loree  shrank  back,  horrified. 
"O  God— how  dreadful!" 


162   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"Dreadful,  yes,"  agreed  Valeria  tonelessly. 
"But  you  •?    Did  you  not  steal,  too?" 

Mrs  Cork's  speech  assumed  its  usual  biting 
flavour. 

"Did  you  know  that  the  rose  diamond  you 
found  on  your  table  was  not  yours?  Or  did 
you  suppose  that  an  angel  had  come  down 
from  heaven  to  present  you  with  it?" 

"The  rose  diamond?"  faltered  Loree. 

"Yes — your  'pink  topaz.'  " 
~^"How  did  you  know?"  whispered  the  girl, 
deeply  shamed. 

"I  put  it  there,  of  course.  It  was  the  price 
Quelch  demanded  for  saving  me  from  arrest. 
You  remember  the  incident  at  Alexanders- 
fontein  when  he  trod  on  your  frock  and  you 
were  obliged  to  go  and  mend  it,  leaving  us 
together?  That  was  the  time  he  chose  to 
blackmail  me  into  being  his  tool.  Both  the 
rose  diamond  and  the  necklace  were  placed 
in  your  room  by  me." 

"Then  it  has  all  been  a  plan  from  the  be- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   163 

ginning!"  cried  Loree,  in  bitter  indignatio». 
"A  plan  to  corrupt  and  ensnare  me !" 

"But  you  were  so  very  willing  to  be  cor- 
rupted and  ensnared,"  retorted  Valeria  Cork. 
"If  you  had  been  honest  and  come  to  nne 
that  night,  as  was  evidently  your  first  in- 
tention, we  might  have  stood  together  and 
fought  him.  But  you  did  not.  And  in  the 
morning,  when  I  came  round,  still  wretchedly 
hoping  for  some  way  out  for  us  both — you 
were  there,  happy  and  smiling,  making  a  silk 
bag  for  your  pznk  topaz  J"  The  red  blood  of 
shame  rushed  through  Loree  Temple's  face, 
but  the  elder  woman  spared  her  nothing. 
"You  lied  to  me  and  told  me  how  old  and 
ugly  I  looked.  I  must  say  your  attitude  did 
not  invite  sacrifice,  and  the  burning  of  my 
own  hands.  I  read  you — empty,  vain,  faith- 
less, utterly  despicable.' 

Loree  was  now  white  as  death,  but  the 
other  woman's  scorn  brought  a  blaze  to  her 
eyes. 


164   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"It  does  not  come  too  well  from  you — that 
indictment,"  she  retorted  bitterly. 

"Perhaps  not.  I  am  a  thief,  too.  But  I 
stole  for  a  keener  need,  and  a  greater  cause, 
if  that  can  be  any  excuse  for  crime.  I  wanted 
money,  not  for  myself  but  to  ensure  the  con- 
tinuation of  my  boy's  education.  In  a  mo- 
ment of  terrible  temptation  to  steal  a  stone 
and  realise  a  few  hundred  pounds,  I  suc- 
cumbed. Within  a  few  moments  I  repented 
and  would  have  put  it  back,  but  it  was  too 
late  to  do  so  without  being  observed,  and 
my  next  idea,  to  return  it  anonymously,  was 
thwarted  by  the  fact  that  Quelch  and  the  de- 
tectives had  all  seen.  You,  on  the  other  hand, 
had  time  to  think  temptation  over  and  reason 
with  your  own  soul.  And  what  was  your 
pressing  need  that  made  you  ready  and  will- 
ing to  barter  away  the  honour  of  a  man  like 
that" — she  pointed  to  the  photograph  on  the 
table — "for — diamonds  *?" 

That  blanched  Loraine  Loree,  and  with- 
ered and  crushed  her. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  165 

*'0h,  no — no!"  she  moaned  brokenly, 
"Not  Pat's  honour!  Don't  think  that!  I 
love  my  husband  with  all  my  heart  and  soul. 
But  I  never  gave  a  thought  to  what  I  was 
doing.  From  the  moment  I  saw  diamonds, 
they  seemed  to  put  a  spell  on  me,  something 
that  blotted  out  my  mind  and  conscience.  I 
can't  explain  to  you — but  now  I  see  what  I 
have  done — destroyed  his  happiness,  his 
pride  in  life — everything!  O  God,  what 
shall  I  dor 

It  was  clear  that  at  last  she  was  at  grips 
with  something  greater  than  self  love  and 
vanity,  had  forgotten,  in  the  suffering  she 
must  inflict  on  her  husband,  the  danger  that 
menaced  herself.  Even  Valeria  Cork's  tor- 
mented soul,  wrung  dry  by  its  own  sorrow, 
felt  compassion  for  the  weeping,  desolate  girl, 
so  young  and  so  foolish. 

"You  must  pick  up  the  pieces  and  begin 
again,"  she  said  sombrely,  "and  consider 
yourself  lucky  if  you  are  able  to.  A  second 
chance  does  not  come  to  us  all." 


16C  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"What  second  chance  am  I  likely  to 
have?"  said  Loree  tragically.  "None.  He 
has  me  in  a  trap  that  I  cannot  escape  from 
without  shame." 

"I  could  help  you  if  you  were  worth  it," 
said  Mrs  Cork  cryptically. 

The  girl  could  only  look  at  her  with 
agonised  eyes.  She  knew  she  had  proved  her- 
self unworthy  of  help  on  this  woman's  part, 
but  she  thought  of  Pat,  and  her  glance  was 
entreating. 

"No  woman  has  ever  helped  me,"  stated 
Valeria  Cork.  "A  woman  stole  my  husband 
and  destroyed  my  happiness.  In  all  my  go- 
ings-up  and  down,  and  struggles  to  live  up- 
rightly, women  have  kicked  me  and  wiped 
their  boots  on  me."  What  gleam  of  hope 
she  had  felt  left  Loree's  heart,  but  came  back 
at  Valeria's  next  words :  "That  is  no  reason 
why  I  should  be  as  base  as  they.  And,  at  the 
last,  you  have  shown  me  that  a  woman  can 
be  kind  to  another.  I  will  tell  you  truth- 
fully that  your  action  in  bringing  that  fifty 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  l(^ 

pound  note  is  the  first  disinterestedly  gener- 
ous thing  a  woman  has  ever  done  for  me." 

Poor  Loree's  face  drooped  in  shame. 

"It  was  not  altogether  disinterested,"  she 
confessed.  "I — I  did  think,  as  you  divined, 
that  it  might  also  be  a  way  of  getting  even 
with  my  conscience  for  keeping  the  dia- 
monds  '^ 

"Ah!" 

"Still,  I  dtd  want  to  give  you  a  helping 
hand  if  you  would  let  me.  I  liked  you  aw- 
fully, and  was  so  dreadfully  sorry " 

"So  you  said  in  your  letter." 

"You  can  believe  or  not — I  don't  care. 
What  does  anything  matter  if  he  does  what 
he  swears — that  rather  than  let  me  got  he 
will  bring  my  reputation  to  the  dust?  That 
means  publishing  to  the  world  that  I — Pat 
Temple's  wife — took  the  De  Beers  dia- 
mond!" 

"But  you  did  not." 

"Well,  I  kept  it  when  I  found  it.  That  is 
as  bad — and  worse — as  vou  have  shown  me." 


168   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

"Only  that  it  didn't  happen  to  belong  to 
De  Beers,"  said  Valeria  Cork.  She  picked  it 
up  from  where  it  lay  in  its  silk  bag,  discarded 
in  company  with  the  now  despised  and  re- 
jected necklace.  "This  diamond  is  an  almost 
exact  facsimile  of  the  rose  diamond  you  so 
much  admired  at  De  Beers',  but  it  happens 
to  have  come,  years  ago,  from  the  Tintara 
mine  and  to  be  Heseltine  Quelch's  own 
property.  He  took  advantage  of  the  like- 
ness to  make  you  believe  that  it  was  the  De 
Beers  stone  you  had,  when  it  was  simply  his 
own  that  he  wished  you  to  keep." 

"Then — then,"  cried  Loree,  "I  am  noi 
a  public  criminal*?  De  Beers  cannot  arrest 
me?  No  one  but  Heseltine  Quelch  can 
threaten  me  with  disgrace?" 

"No,"  answered  Valeria  calmly;  "it  is 
only  I  who  can  be  arrested  and  disgraced, 
and  I  don't  suppose  he  will  spare  me  when 
he  finds  you  have  slipped  his  clutches." 

Loree  gave  a  long  sigh. 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  169 

"I  cannot  slip  his  clutches — at  your  ex- 
pense," she  said  at  last. 

"You  have  your  husband  to  think  of." 

The  girl  shook  her  head. 

"You  don't  know  Pat.  He  would  never 
let  himself  be  saved  anything  at  the  expense 
of  another,  especially  a  woman." 

"He  must  never  know  that  part  of  the 
story,"  said  Valeria  firmly. 

"But,  Mrs  Cork,  I  cannot!  I  feel  it  in 
my  bones  that  Quelch  will  wreak  vengeance 
on  some  one,  and  I  cannot  let  you  be  sacri- 
ficed. You  have  got  to  think  of  yourself. 
Your  boy,  too — for  whom " 

"For  whom  I  stole,"  supplemented 
Valeria.  "Ah,  my  dear,  you  tell  me  to  think 
of  him !  For  the  last  two  days  I  have  thought 
of  nothing  else.  He  has  lain  in  my  arms,  a 
little  chubby  baby  once  more,  with  his  curly 
head  against  my  breast." 

"He  shall  never  be  sacrificed!"  cried 
Loree. 

"He  is  sacrificed  already,"  said  Valeria 


170  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Cork  softly,  "by  a  more  just  fate  than  you  or 
I  control.  He  was  drowned  two  days  ago 
while  trying  to  save  the  life  of  a  friend." 

"O  dear  God !"  whispered  Loree  pitifully. 
Now  she  knew  the  reason  of  the  other's  som- 
bre, tearless  gaze.  Nothing  could  ever  hurt 
more  deeply  or  comfort  again  that  soul  be- 
reft. 

"So  you  see,"  said  Valeria,  voicing  her 
thought,  "nothing  matters." 

She  talked  down  Loree's  protests.  She 
was  bent  on  sacrifice  as  her  just  punishment. 
Almost  it  seemed  as  if  she  craved  some  other 
pain  as  anodyne  for  that  which  already  ate 
like  a  rat  at  her  heart.  They  talked  into 
the  small  hours  of  the  morning,  formulating 
plans  by  which  to  defeat  Quelch,  who,  they 
knew,  would  stick  at  nothing. 

"He  told  me  frankly,"  said  Valeria,  "that 
diere  were  only  two  things  in  the  world  he 
cared  about — the  future  of  his  son  and  the 
possession  of  you.  That  was  in  the  small 
hours  after  the  ball  when  he  had  just  paid 


PinU  Gods  and  Blue  Demons  171 

down  £50,000  to  keep  scandal  from  touch- 
ing you." 

"£50,000!   What  can  you  mean?" 

"Ah  yes,  I  had  forgotten  for  the  moment. 
That  was  the  price  he  paid  Mrs  Solano  for 
the  necklace.  It  was  hers  as  she  rightly 
claimed.  As  soon  as  she  got  it  into  her 
hands  in  Quelch's  sitting-room  she  was  able 
to  prove  that  to  him." 

"Hers?  But  how  then  had  he  got  it  to 
give  to  me  ?" 

"It  is  a  complicated  story,  and  full  of 
dark  by-ways.  God  knows  what  evil  magic 
lies  in  diamonds  that  they  can  make  peo- 
ple do  such  terrible  things !  It  appears  that 
Mrs  Solano  had  given  the  chain  into  the 
care  of  her  banker.  She  wanted  him  to  sell 
it,  but  she  set  a  very  high  price  on  it  and 
he  had  never  been  able  to  find  a  purchaser. 
However,  one  day  recently  when  Quelch  was 
with  him  at  the  bank  he  produced  it,  and 
Quelch,  with  you  in  his  mind,  and  recognis- 
ing it  as  a  most  exquisite  collection  of  stones, 


172   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

offered  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  for  it. 
The  Banker  closed  at  once  without  disclos- 
ing to  Quelch  the  name  of  the  client  for 
whom  he  was  selling.  And  in  fact  he  never 
disclosed  the  transaction  to  Mrs  Solano  her- 
self. His  bank  was  in  deep  waters  and  he 
used  the  money  to  tide  over  his  own  finan- 
cial difficulties,  no  doubt  intending  and  hop- 
ing to  repay  the  money  before  she  should 
find  out  about  the  sale  of  the  chain.  Un- 
fortunately you  wore  it  that  night.  She  saw 
it  and  the  moment  she  and  Quelch  were 
alone  and  compared  notes  they  realised  what 
had  happened." 

At  the  words  "financial  difficulties"  a 
dreadful  suspicion  that  had  been  lurking  in 
Loree  Temple's  brain,  found  words. 

'What  was  the  Banker's  name^"  she 
asked  hoarsely,  and  even  as  she  feared  the 
answer  was: 

"Frederick  Huffe." 

"O  God!"  with  a  moan  the  girl  covered 
her  eyes.    "I  felt  sure  it  was.    I  had  a  horri- 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   173 

ble  feeling  that  there  was  some  connection 
between  the  diamonds  and  his  death,  for  I 
remember  that  it  was  to  speak  to  Mr  Quelch 
that  he  was  called  away  from  dancing  with 
me." 

"Yes,  Quelch  sent  for  him,  and  there  in 
the  sitting  room  they  questioned  him  point 
blank,  and  he  calmly  admitted  what  he  liad 
done  and  that  he  had  used  the  money.  Noth- 
ing more  was  said.  Quelch  had  told  me 
since  that  neither  he  nor  Mrs  Solano  would 
have  dreamed  of  prosecuting.  They  both 
liked  the  man  too  much  and  appreciated  that 
his  difficulties  had  not  been  his  own  but  of 
the  bank's  making.  Probably  Quelch  would 
have  helped  him  out.  But  poor  Freddy 
Huffe's  pride  was  broken.  He  went  straight 
from  them  into  the  garden  and  shot  himself 
with  a  revolver  he  always  carried." 

Loree  shuddered. 

"It  was  my  fault,"  she  muttered.  "His 
blood  is  on  my  head  I" 

"That  is  a  morbid  thought,"  pronounced 


174  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

Valeria  firmly,  "and  one  you  must  not  allow 
to  stay  in  your  mind.  The  fate  of  every  man 
is  bound  about  his  neck.  Frederick  Huffe 
was  fated  to  die  by  his  own  hand,  and  no 
action  of  yours  could  have  prevented  it." 

But  Loree  shook  her  head,  and  tears 
streamed  down  her  face. 

"How  little  I  dreamed  that  it  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  me  when  I  read  it  in  the 
papers  next  day! — and  how  heartlessly  I 
passed  it  over.  All  that  moved  me  was 
thankfulness  that  no  journalist  had  men- 
tioned anything  about  my  diamonds.  I 
thought  at  the  time  that  it  was  accident, 
but  now  I  suppose  that  too  can  be  traced  back 
to  Heseltine  Quelch's  power?" 

"Yes.  He  has  power  in  this  place.  I 
think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  used  it 
to  prevent  the  journalists  from  saying  any- 
thing about  the  chain  you  were  wearing." 

"And  what  about  Mrs  Solano*?  How  did 
he  account  to  her  for  giving  me  the  jewels*? 
Oh !  what  can  she  think  of  me?" 


PinJe  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   175 

"You  need  not  worry  about  that.  Mrs 
Solano  is  under  many  obligations  to  Hesel- 
tine  Quelch,  I  believe,  but  he  did  not  follow 
that  line.  He  told  her  the  whole  story  and 
threw  himself  on  her  mercy.  She  is  a  strange 
woman  and  in  some  ways  a  very  fine  one. 
She  understood  both  Quelch's  passion  for 
you,  and  your  passion  for  the  gems,  and 
she  consented  to  sell  the  chain  to  him  and  to 
keep  her  lips  sealed  forever.  He  at  once 
wrote  her  out  a  cheque  for  £50,000 — double 
what  she  had  asked.  They  can  do  big  things 
these  Jews,  as  well  as  small  ones.*' 

"But  she  makes  another  who  knows !" 

"I  tell  you  Rachel  Solano  is  a  great 
woman,  for  all  her  sins.  You  need  never 
fear  her." 

"I  fear  him,"  cried  the  desolate,  shivering 
girl.  "I  shall  never  be  able  to  escape  him. 
Every  one  in  this  hotel  is  his  tool." 

"They  must  be  deceived  as  well  as  he. 
Listen :  start  packing  in  the  morning,  saying 


176   PinJc  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

to  the  servants  that  you  are  leaving  for  Eng- 
land.   The  news  will  soon  reach  him." 

"But  he  expects  me  to  go  with  him  to- 
morrow night." 

"You  must  delay  that.  Write  him  a  note 
saying  that  you  are  ill  and  can't  be  ready  un- 
til the  night  after." 

"And  then." 

"In  reality,  you  will  slip  away  to-morrow 
night  by  the  mail-train  for  Rhodesia." 

"Rhodesia?"  said  Loree  faintly. 

"Yes — to  your  husband.  And  never  leave 
him  again.  Women  like  you  are  not  safe 
away  from  their  rightful  owners.  Beauty  is 
not  such  a  boon  as  plain  women  suppose." 

There  was  pity  as  well  as  a  certain  amount 
of  scorn  in  Valeria  Cork's  voice,  but  Loree 
was  in  no  mood  to  resent  either. 

"How  can  I  ever  explain  to  him — turning 
up  suddenly  like  that*?"  she  murmured. 

"That  is  your  affair,"  said  Valeria.  "Mine 
is  to  get  you  away.    So  to  bed  now,  and  rest 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons   177 

as  much  as  you  can.  You  will  need  all  your 
wits  and  nerves.     Good-night." 

She  rose,  and  they  stood  looking  at  each 
other  for  an  instant. 

"I  don't  suppose  you  would  care  to  shake 
hands  wi^h  a  woman  like  me,"  said  Mrs 
Cork  slowly.  Her  mournful  eyes  had  some- 
thing shamed  and  beaten  in  their  depths, 
something  of  the  longing  of  a  punished  child 
for  a  kind  word.  Loree  suddenly  flung  her 
arms  about  her  and  held  her  close,  and  then, 
at  last,  the  other  woman's  agonised  heart 
found  relief  in  the  tears  that  had  been  denied 
her  since  she  received  the  news  of  her  loss. 
Amidst  her  bitter  weeping,  broken  incoherent 
phrases  came  gasping  from  her  lips. 

"He  was  so  beautiful,  so  gay !  I  wanted 
only  to  be  good  for  his  dear  sake.  It  was 
enough — just  to  be  his  mother.  But  when 
I  suddenly  lost  all  rfiy  little  fortune  in  a 
mining  smash,  there  seemed  no  way  to  get 
money  to  keep  him  among  the  right  people. 
He  was  so  brilliant — I  dreamed  of  his  being 


178   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

one  of  the  great  men  of  England,  some  day. 
I  thought,  'What  does  my  poor  soul  matter 
so  long  as  he  rises  from  the  ruins  of  it*?'  I 
would  have  lied,  stolen,  murdered,  done  any- 
thing^  so  that  all  might  have  been  well  with 
him — and  see  how  the  God  of  Equity  inter- 
venes !  He  knew  that  no  man  could  ever  be 
great  who  had  a  shameful  mother — and  He 
had  pity  on  my  son.  Oh,  Loree,  Loree — if 
ever  you  have  a  son,  starve  with  him  in  a 
garret,  scratch  with  him  in  the  gutter,  but 
never  imperil  for  him  your  immortal  soul. 
'What  you  give  of  gold  and  silver  stands 
nothing;  only  as  much  as  you  have  of  soul 
avails.'  Some  great  man  said  that,  and  it  is 
true.  Only  what  you  give  of  the  soul 
avails." 

In  the  morning,  to  a  wretched  Loree, 
weary-eyed  from  haunted  dreams,  came  a 
letter  from  Quelch.  It  was  restrained  and 
tender,  almost  gentle,  but  it  sounded  the 
note  of  one  who  held  the  winning  cards.  Be- 
low the  bold  signature  was  appended  the 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    179 

hour  of  the  mail-train's  departure,  and  an 
added  word  like  a  cry: 

"I  have  received  a  blow  that  only  you  can 
comfort  me  for,  my  beautiful  Loraine  Lx)ree." 

She  shivered,  then  burned.  The  thought 
that  she  must  carry  the  memory  of  his  il- 
licit caresses  all  her  life  made  her  sick. 
Frantically  she  began  to  pack,  then,  remem- 
bering Valeria's  instructions,  went  to  bed 
again.  It  was  a  dreadful  day  of  pretence 
and  subterfuge  and  lying.  It  seemed  to  her 
that  she  could  never  again  erase  from  her 
soul  the  black  marks  of  all  the  lies  she  told 
that  day,  that  they  would  tarnish  for  ever 
all  her  future  life  with  Pat.  But  then,  had 
she  not  tarnished  it  already  by  her  own 
wicked  folly? 

Under  the  counsels  of  Valeria  Cork,  a  sub- 
tly evasive  answer  was  written  to  Quelch's 
letter.  It  told  that  she  was  too  ill  to  leave 
her  room  that  day,  and  gave  no  bond  to  be 
at  the  station  on  the  next;  it  sent  no  word 


180  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

of  love,  and  was  a  document  that  all  the 
world  might  have  read,  yet  a  promise,  elu- 
sive and  fragile  as  the  scent  of  spring, 
haunted  the  simple  lines.  Valeria's  lips  were 
grim  as  she  invented  each  delicate  phrase. 

"Skilled  weapons  against  an  unscrupulous 
fighter,"  she  contended.  "When  you  are 
safely  gone,  he  shall  know  who  composed  the 
letter.  It  is  one  of  his  punishments  for  what 
he  has  done  to  you — and  me." 

She  moved  sombrely  about  the  room,  like 
one  walking  behind  the  bier  of  her  dead. 
Nothing  seemed  alive  in  her  except  her 
smouldering  eyes.  At  lunch-time,  she  went 
down  stairs  and  sat  before  food  she  could 
not  eat  for  the  sake  of  spying  out  the  land 
of  the  enemy.  But  he  did  not  appear.  There 
was  nothing  to  report  to  Loree  except  that 
it  was  known  in  the  hotel  that  his  going  to 
the  Cape  had  been  postponed  until  the  fol- 
lowing evening.  Afterwards,  she  wrote  a 
note  to  him  and  left  it  at  the  office.  The 
office-girl  mentioned  to  her  that  Mr  Quelch 


Pinh  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    181 

was  looking  terribly  ill,  and  she  wondered 
what  the  bad  news  could  be  he  had  men- 
tioned to  Ix)ree ;  but  she  was  not  a  woman  to 
waste  time  on  idle  curiosity.  Having  gone 
through  Loree  Temple's  trunks  that  morning, 
she  had  selected  therefrom  a  pair  of  tan- 
cloth  riding-breeches,  a  long  habit-coat,  and 
top-boots.  All  the  rest  of  the  lovely  Viola 
clothes  were  stored  away  in  the  trunks  la- 
belled loudly  for  Cape  Town — except  one 
simple  frock  and  such  feminine  necessities  as 
would  fill  a  small  suitcase.  Now  she  sallied 
forth  to  do  some  shopping,  taking  the  suit- 
case with  her. 

"To  get  it  mended,"  she  told  the  hall  por- 
ter, and  placed  it  herself  in  the  taxi.  But 
its  true  destination  was  the  station  cloak- 
room. 

Returning  at  tea-time,  she  brought  with 
her  a  first-class  ticket  to  Mafeking,  and  an- 
other from  Mafeking  to  Buluwayo,  a  strong 
rope,  a  second-hand  tweed  ulster  suitable  for 
a  slender  youth  of  medium  height,   and  a 


182   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

slouch  hat.  These  last,  with  the  breeches  and 
top-boots,  were  to  constitute  Loree's  travel- 
ling-kit. 

They  "dressed  the  part"  and  gravely  re- 
hearsed it.  Mrs  Temple's  mirror,  that  had 
once  given  back  lovely  visions  in  diaphanous 
draperies  and  sparkling  jewels,  now  reflected 
something  uncommonly  like  a  seedy  youth  of 
the  type  that  relations  get  rid  of  to  South 
Africa  and  hope  they'll  never  see  again. 
What  could  be  seen  of  the  face  beneath  the 
slouch-hat  was  not  prepossessing  when 
Valeria  had  finished  with  it.  The  complex- 
ion was  sallow  and  distinctly  spotty,  the 
eyes  slightly  inflamed.  A  darkness  on  the 
upper  lip  might  have  been  the  promise  of  a 
moustache  or  merely  dirt.  What  the  hand 
of  Mrs  Cork  found  to  do,  she  did  well. 

Loree  gazed  with  disgust  at  the  odious 
person  in  the  glass.  It  seemed  impossible 
she  could  ever  be  herself  again.  But  Valeria 
coached  her  in  the  art  of  getting  rid  of  facial 
disguise  in  ten  minutes.    That  was  the  secret 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    183 

contained  in  the  two  railway  tickets.  The 
lightning  change  had  to  occur  in  a  lavatory 
dressing-room  sometime  in  the  early  morning 
before  the  train  reached  Mafeking.  During 
the  short  wait  at  the  famous  little  Bechuana- 
land  town,  no  one  was  likely  to  note  the  dis- 
appearance of  a  bleary-eyed  youth  or  con- 
nect it  with  the  advent  of  a  veiled  lady  who 
would  continue  the  journey  to  Buluwayo  as 
Mrs  Temple. 

Getting  away  from  the  hotel  without  be- 
ing seen  and  reported  to  Quelch  was  a  more 
difficult  matter,  but  Valeria  had  laid  careful 
plans.  It  would  be  dusk — the  hour  when 
people  were  dressing  for  dinner.  No  one 
would  be  likely  to  be  near  the  comer  of  the 
balcony  opposite  Valeria's  room  or  in  the 
obscure  fernery  on  the  stoop  below.  The 
comer  had  a  strong  post  to  the  ground, 
against  which  Loree  could  support  herself 
when  being  let  down.  That  was  what  the 
rope  was  for. 

"And  if  you  meet  any  one  who  wants  to 


184   Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

know  your  business,  give  them  this  note  for 
me,  and  then  make  tracks,"  said  Valeria. 
"You  will  easily  get  a  cab  to  the  station." 

She  had  thought  of  everything.  Her  only 
regret  was  that  she  could  not  be  at  the  sta- 
tion, too.  But  it  had  seemed  wiser  to  make 
an  appointment  with  Quelch  for  that  hour. 
To  that  end,  she  had  written  the  note  at  mid- 
day, underlining  the  words:  "particularly 
personal  matter."  She  desired  that  he  would 
realise  the  matter  to  be  connected  with  Loree 
Temple,  and,  even  as  she  anticipated,  a 
prompt  reply  came,  and  hoped  she  would 
"honour  him  by  an  interview  in  his  private 
sitting-room"  at  the  hour  she  mentioned,  if 
such  an  arrangement  suited  her.  She 
grimaced  at  the  courteous  words  which 
seemed  to  her  unnecessary  irony,  but  the 
plan  indeed  suited  her — perfectly. 

At  the  hour  in  which  she  knocked  upon 
Heseltine  Quelch's  door  the  work  was  done. 
She  had  kissed  Loraine  Loree  upon  her  dark- 
ened   lips    and    bade    her   Godspeed,    had 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    185 

launched  her  from  the  balcony,  and  seen  the 
boyish  silhouette  disappear  through  the  gar- 
den. Even  as  she  listened  for  an  answer 
from  the  room  within,  she  heard  the  harsh 
scream  and  "chug-chug*'  of  a  departing 
train,  and  knew  that,  if  all  was  well,  Mrs 
Temple  was  passing  out  of  Kimberley  and 
out  of  her  life  for  ever. 

Quelch  was  sitting  at  a  table,  holding  his 
hands  before  him  as  though  clutching  some- 
thing. But  the  moment  she  entered,  he  rose 
abruptly  and  came  towards  her  with  a  sort 
of  violence.  She  saw  that  his  hands  were 
empty,  and  thought,  by  his  strange  face, 
that  he  meant  to  kill  her.  Brave  as  she  was, 
she  recoiled  from  him.  That  pulled  him  up 
sharp.  He  stood  stammering,  almost  gibber- 
ing incoherent  words  at  her.  She  was  cer- 
tain now  that  he  knew.  There  was  some- 
thing horribly  moving  in  the  desolation  of 
his  eyes.  It  was  the  expression  of  a  fierce 
creature  of  the  wilds  wounded  to  the  death. 
She  noticed  suddenly  that  he  was  no  longer 


186  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demoris 

young.  His  shoulders  stooped;  there  was 
silver  in  his  hair. 

"Did  he  care  so  much*?"  she  thought 
amazed,  and  almost  her  heart  felt  pity  for 
him.  She  knew  what  it  was  to  love  and  be 
robbed.  In  a  moment,  he  succeeded  in  get- 
ting control  of  himself  and  spoke  clearly. 
Then  she  realised  that  though  he  was  no 
longer  incoherent,  she  did  not  understand 
him.     What  he  said  was: 

"It  is  no  wonder  you  recoil  from  me — 
hate  me.  I  can  only  say  to  you  that  I  grieve 
for  you  with  all  that  is  left  of  my  heart — 
and — I  thank  you." 

She  stared  at  him.  They  stood  looking  at 
each  other — two  people  scarred  and  marred 
by  the  passionate  lawlessness  of  their  own 
natures — in  her  eyes  amazement,  in  his  that 
devastating  mournfulness.  What  was  he 
speaking  of^  He  seemed  to  know  of  her 
sorrow,  to  share  it. 

"A  son,"  he  said  softly,  "to  lose  one's  son ! 
The  being  one  wound  one's  dreams  about — 


Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons    187 

who  was  to  be  so  infinitely  greater  than  one- 
self— to  compensate  with  the  shining  splen- 
dour of  his  soul  for  all  the  darkness  of  one's 
own."  Valeria  gloomed  at  him  with  bitter 
eyes.  How  did  he  know  so  well  wherewith 
to  mock  her,  this  strange  Eastern  man  with 
his  gentle,  un-English  voice?  "You  should 
not  hate  me.  It  is  unworthy  of  the  mother 
of  a  son  who  gave  his  life  for  a  friend." 

While  she  stood  considering  him — how 
un-English  he  was  to  have  tears  running 
down  his  cheeks  like  that;  that  he  musl  be  a 
Jew  (as  she  had  often  supposed)  to  be  so 
emotional,  so  unreserved,  so  piercingly  sapi- 
ent— the  truth  came  to  her  like  an  arrow.  It 
was  his  son  that  hers  had  died  to  save  and 
died  for  in  vain!     They  were  both  sonless! 

Nothing  but  the  bare  news  of  her  loss  had 
come  to  her,  no  names  but  that  of  her  son. 
Quelch  with  his  wealth  had  commanded 
every  detail  of  the  tragedy,  and  been  receiv- 
ing news  down  to  that  very  hour.  The  table 
was  littered  with  cablegrams. 


188  Pink  Gods  and  Blue  Demons 

She  stood  very  still  and  white  and  weary 
until  he  had  finished  telling  her  all,  thanking 
her  for  the  nobleness  of  her  son's  effort,  as- 
suring her  that  if  in  all  the  wide  world 
there  was  anything  that  could  represent  his 
gratitude,  any  act  of  his  that  would  help  to 
ease  her  wound,  she  had  only  to  speak.  Then 
from  her  pocket  she  produced  a  little  parcel 
of  sparkling  stones  wrapped  in  a  silken  hand- 
kerchief and  laid  it  on  the  table. 

"A  little  foolish  girl  returns  you  these," 
she  said,  and  her  voice,  too,  had  grown  very 
gentle.  "She  left  to-night  to  join  her  hus- 
band. This  you  can  do  for  me :  Forget  her, 
and  let  her  forget  you." 


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